BasicChristian.info

Basic Christian
mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which places it on January 9 according to the
Gregorian calendar used in secular (and Western) contexts. It commemorates St Stephen, the first Christian martyr
or protomartyr. -- Protomartyr (Greek "first" + "martyr") is a term for the first Christian martyr in a country.
Alternatively, the phrase the Protomartyr (with no other qualification of country or region) can mean Saint Stephen,
the first martyr of the Christian church. -- See also: Boxing Day [day after Christiams] - The name derives from the
English tradition giving seasonal gifts (in the form of a "Christmas box") to less wealthy people. In the United
Kingdom this was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers, servants, tradespeople and postal
workers. ... Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas Day.
Unlike St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day is a secular holiday and is not always on 26 December: the public holiday is
generally moved to the following Monday if 26 December is a Saturday. If 25 December is a Saturday then both the
Monday and Tuesday may be public holidays. However the date of observance of Boxing Day varies between
countries. In Ireland - when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the UK's Bank
Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St Stephen as a non-moveable public holiday on 26 December. Since
Partition, the name "Boxing Day" is used only by the authorities in Northern Ireland (which remained part of the
United Kingdom). Their Boxing Day is a moveable public holiday in line with the rest of the United Kingdom. The
Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 established "Boxing Day" as a public holiday in Scotland. In the
Australian state of South Australia, 26 December is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day. -- Calendar: In
the countries that observe this holiday, 26 December is commonly referred to both as Boxing Day and as St.
Stephen's Day, no matter what day of the week it occurs. However, in some countries, holidays falling on Saturday
or Sunday are observed on the next weekday. Boxing Day cannot be on a Sunday, that day being the officially
recognised day of worship, so traditionally it was the next working day of the week following Christmas Day, (i.e.
any day from Monday to Saturday). In recent times this tradition has been either forgotten or ignored. Most people
consider 26 December to be Boxing Day even when it falls on a Sunday. The last year 26 December was called
Christmas Sunday in the United Kingdom and Canada was 1993. The next time the date fell on a Sunday (1999), it
was known as Boxing Day. If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, then Monday 28 December is declared a bank or
public holiday. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, this is accomplished by Royal Proclamation. In
some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday that is always celebrated on 26 December. As with
most statutory holidays in Canada, if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following
week. If Boxing Day falls on a Sunday then Christmas Day would be on a Saturday, so in countries where these are
both bank or public holiday, the Statutory Holiday for Christmas is moved to Monday December 27 and the
Statutory Holiday for Boxing Day is moved to Tuesday December 28. If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, then
Boxing Day is on Monday 26 December, and no Royal Proclamation is required. In such a circumstance, a
'substitute bank holiday in the place of Christmas Day' is declared for Tuesday 27 December, so the Boxing Day
holiday occurs before the substitute Christmas holiday.
{Basic Christian: blog Bible Study} Acts 8 - The early Christian Church
begins to experience wide scale opposition and persecution -- 'Acts
8:1-3 And Saul [later the Apostle Paul] was consenting unto his
[Stephen's] death. *And at that time there was a great persecution
against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they [Christians -
Disciples] were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea
and Samaria, *except the Apostles [Apostle means 'sent out' at this
point in the Church the Disciples basically fled while the Apostles
remained calm]. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and
made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the
church, entering into every house, and haling men and women
committed them to *prison [early Christians in Jerusalem were
primarily sent to prison for a short time].'
http://www.basicchristian.org/blog_History_Study_Complete.rss[1/16/2012 7:38:03 AM]