Tonight I am sharing part of a post that I wrote three years ago about Boxing Day. I am also adding a few items and doing a bit of editing.

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Today is the saint’s day for the martyr Stephen in the Catholic church calendar of saints. The Eastern Orthodox church observes either December 27 or January 9 as the date depending on whether they use the Gregorian or Julian calendar in a specific locale.

There are a few interesting customs associated with St. Stephen’s day depending on where you are. They include bleeding of cattle, carrying birds through the streets or eating special meals.

Since I know that this is a day observed in some religious traditions, I am thinking about Stephen today. I think of his great sermon in Acts 7 and also about his actions while he was stoned to death.

There is also a carol written about St. Stephen’s Day. I am sure that many of you have sung Good King Wenceslas.

You may also remember the words:

Good King Wenceslas looked out

on the feast of Stephen

when the snow lay round about,

deep and crisp and even;

You can read more about this king in my post Good King Wenceslas.

The picture here is of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. According to early tradition, it was outside this gate that Stephen was stoned to death. A later tradition gives the location as the Lion’s Gate, but there is little evidence to support this.

In the picture you see a small rounded gate to the right of the main gate. This smaller gate is part of the triple arch gate that was built by Hadrian in the 2nd century. The larger gate above was built during the 16th century by the Ottoman’s.

I took this picture on the last day that we were in Jerusalem during my vacation there three years ago. On the other side of this gate was a very interesting shopping area in the Old City of Jerusalem. You can even see the market spilling out through the gate. A great place for those last minute souvenirs.

I also walked through this gate several times during my trip to Israel this year. The gate was usually very busy, but there was also a few times where it was very quiet. In the picture above our dig team is walking toward the Damascus Gate.

Steven