deep and crisp and even.

Good King Wences car backed out on a piece of Steven.

or the Pogo version:

"Old King Saurkraut look out, on your feets uneven...."

who exactly is King Wencelas? The only reason I've even heard of this guy is because of that song...sorry, never read the bible, is he in there?

"Good King Wenceslas looked out of his bedroom *window,
Something hit him on the snout, it was a red-hot cinder!
Brightly shone his nose that night,
lo, the pain was cruel,
When the doctor came in sight, riding on a mule."

*pronounced to rhyme with cinder.

dominikki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> who exactly is King Wencelas? The only reason
> I've even heard of this guy is because of that
> song...sorry, never read the bible, is he in
> there?

No. He was a Duke though declared a king.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_King_Wenceslas

I personally like the Phineas and Ferb version of this song better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPXfKWK_UU&feature=related

I read the wiki thing but I still don't get what the hell does he have to do with christmas? I mean other than the stupid song about him.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2011 07:44PM by dominikki.

Christmas lasts for 12 days. So the 2nd (or 3rd in the East) day of Christmas, St. Stephens Day, the 2nd day of Christmas, falls during Christmas.

But everything that happens between late Nov. and Jan. 6 gets mixed up with Christmas. St. Nicholas day, Dec. 6, but he forms the basis of St. Claus who becomes associated with Christmas.

Advent starts 4 weeks before Christmas. But songs for advent, like Come, O Come Imannuel, get's thought of as a Christmas carol.

The end of Christmas, Jan. 6 is Epiphany. It celebrates, among other things, the visit of the Eastern Magi to Jesus. So, We Three Kings, although properly an Epiphany song gets to be a Christmas carol. In some cultures, Epiphany is the day of gift giving not St. Nicholas Day or Christmas. The gifts are brought by the Magi not Santa Clause. Instead of milk and cookies, hay is left out for the Magi's camels.

At high holidays, the aristocracy was expected to give the underlings gifts. Depending where you were, this could be St. Nicholas Day, Christmas, St. Stephens or Epiphany. The role reversals of April Fools Day and the going door to door at Halloween partly have roots in this practice.

If masters didn't give good gifts (because the peasants had been naughty that year?), the peons would come to the masters' house and try to charm him for something (door to door Christmas Caroling and giving goodies and drinks to the carolers.) If that didn't work, the peasants could become resistive, Trick or Treat, my lord.

One of the roots of mummers is similar, dressing up, partying and trying to get gifts from them that has.

So the good sainted King was out giving to the poor during Christmas to keep them from attaching his castle (OK, I exagerate, maybe, a little).

But sometimes there were riots. The Dicksonian Christmas of heart and home was an effort to time the more unsettling Christmas practices. Keep them home by the bright fire giving gifts in the family rather than causing problems in the street. The gift giving also did great things for the growing consumerist economy that grew out of the industrial revolution aided by advertising. So Santa Claus was a good advertizing symbol.

So now the poor consumers buy Christmas presents, giving their money to the rich.

And that is what the good sainted King and St. Stephen have to do with Christmas.

Aren't you glad you don't know all of this stuff.

Thank you Lulu, I glad that you know this stuff so you can tell me then I can pretent that I knew this stuff so I can ipress my co-workers with how "smart" I am! Thanks!