Today, December 26, is Boxing Day. Although it is celebrated in Canada, in the
UK, and other Commonwealth and European countries, we don’t pay much attention
to it in the States. As in the U.S., this
day now seems to be connected with deeply discounted shopping. But it was not always so.
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| St. Etienne, Caen, France |
I had thought that Boxing Day was the day that friends and
acquaintances exchanged gifts after the family Christmas festivities were over. And while that is true to some
extent, since the Middle Ages it has been a day for tradespeople and servants
to receive gifts from their employers and for the fortunate to share with those
less so. No one knows why we call it “Boxing
Day”. There is speculation that it had
to do with the boxes of food and gifts given to servants, or the alms boxes placed
outside of churches for collections for the Feast of St. Stephen (December
26). At any rate, the holiday has been most
closely associated with the carol “Good King Wenceslas” about a saintly king who performed a
charitable act on the Feast day of St. Stephen.
Good King Wenceslas
looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay
round about, deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the
moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man
came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.
This carol has always reminded me of the lovely winter
scenes painted by Northern European artists like the Limbourg brothers and the Brueghels
(father and son)*. They were able to
capture the look and feel of a dreary winter day like no other artists. The weak
light and muted colors emphasize the raw bone chilling cold and difficult lives of their frequent subjects, the peasants, who lived lives so intimately linked to the
cycles of nature.
Look closely at the Limbourg Brothers “February” page from Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.
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| Limbourg Brothers, February, from Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1412-16 |
We see a cozy, orderly scene. After all, this was a page from a prayer book
of sorts for the Duke, who needed to see that his lands and its people were organized
and well cared for. But we can also find
evidence of some discomfort and hardship.
Two peasants are engaged in
chopping wood and taking it away (for the Duke?) Another peasant braves the cold; frosty
breath rises from his mouth. Like the
sheep in the pen, the women and man inside the house are huddled together. They have
removed their wet undergarments (there’s a bit of flashing going
on!) and try to warm up before the fire.
Here, life is well-ordered and basic needs are met, but it is also
difficult and uncomfortable.
"Hither, page,
and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who
is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he
lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain;
Right against the
forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain."
"Bring me
flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I shall
see him dine, when we bear them thither."
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| Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Peasant Wedding, 1567 |
Even peasants deserve a day of “flesh and wine”. In Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting the wedding feast takes place in a barn
– the very place in which these peasants toil away day after day. The repast is simple but abundant. A nobleman, perhaps the landowner, is seen
talking with a monk on the right side of the painting.
Page and monarch,
forth they went, forth they went together;
Through the rude
wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.
"Sire, the
night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I
know not how; I can go no longer."
"Mark my
footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the
winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."
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| Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Adoration of the Magi, 1600 |
Pieter Brueghel the Younger has staged his "Adoration" in a northern village in contemporary times. The wealthy
magi make their way to the manger amidst the daily activities of village life. Just like Good King Wenceslas, they lead, with servants and peasants following.
In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.
Happy Boxing Day to you all.
*Pieter Bruegel the Elder dropped the "h" from his name. His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, reinstated it.
