{"id":1230,"date":"2025-12-26T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/?p=1230"},"modified":"2025-12-26T22:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T22:00:01","slug":"december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing Day &#038; St Stephens Day December 26th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg 640w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">St Stephens, Walbrook. This view of the Church is not normally visible. The brown brick area to the right is much &#8216;cruder&#8217; than the left.  Christopher Wren was saving money by not &#8216;finishing off&#8217; parts that were not visible from the public thoroughfare. Photo by the Author in 2008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the second day of Christmas<br>my true love sent to me:<br>2 Turtle Doves<br>and a Partridge in a Pear Tree<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Feast Day of St Stephens<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is the Feast day of St Stephen. He was the first Christian Martyr and was stoned to death not long after Jesus&#8217; apotheosis. He was a deacon in the early Church, brought before the Sanhedrin for blasphemy. At the trial, he made a long speech outraging the audience. St Paul was in the audience (also known as Saul).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen attacked the importance of the Temple to Judaism, making parallels with idolatry. Perhaps, I wonder, this explains why there are so few early Christian Churches identified in the archaeological record? Were they consciously avoiding large Temple Basilican structures to differentiate themselves from pagan religions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wrens &amp; Presents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 26th is the day when Wrens could be hunted.  Read my post about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-9th-robins\/\">Robins and Wrens and their seasonal importance here<\/a>. Also, the day, people gave presents (Boxes) to servants and working people.  Other days for presents included St Nicholas&#8217;s Day (December 6th), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year&#8217;s Day, and Twelfth Night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>St Stephens Walbrook<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wren&#8217;s most beautiful Parish Church is dedicated to St Stephen. It is one of the first Parish Churches to have a dome. There is also a splendid Altar designed by Henry Moore. I took a Swedish Choir around the City of London on a guided walk. St Stephen&#8217;s was open, and, once inside, they just fancied the acoustics. So, they sang. I recorded. Listen below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/choir3.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Swedish Choir singing in St Stephen&#8217;s London <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you wish to read the post on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-13th-st-lucys-festival-of-light\/\">St Lucy click here:<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-resized is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1003\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tijana-drndarski-AVQzFSdkNyw-unsplash-detail-1024x1003.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of Christmas greenery on a gift box\" class=\"wp-image-1231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tijana-drndarski-AVQzFSdkNyw-unsplash-detail-1024x1003.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tijana-drndarski-AVQzFSdkNyw-unsplash-detail-300x294.jpg 300w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tijana-drndarski-AVQzFSdkNyw-unsplash-detail-768x752.jpg 768w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tijana-drndarski-AVQzFSdkNyw-unsplash-detail-1536x1504.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tijana-drndarski-AVQzFSdkNyw-unsplash-detail-2048x2006.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">by Tjana Drndarski-via unsplash  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Victorian Boxing Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1858, James Ewing Richie wrote about &#8216;Boxing Night&#8217; in &#8216;The Night Side of London&#8217;. I&#8217;ve mixed it up with another source. So here is a list of the people who might come knocking at the door for their traditional Boxing Day Box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Richie&#8217;s advice was to tie up your knocker to avoid paying these people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chimney sweep.&nbsp; Then varlets playing French Horns pretending to be the Waits &#8211; {The Waits were licensed musical beggars}<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then came the Turncock, who switched the water supply to your side of the street on alternative days. Followed by the Postman, the Dustman; the Road Waterer in summer, and the Road Scrapper in Winter. After this, the real Waits turned up for a musical turn. Then the Lamplighter, the Grocer&#8217;s Boy and the Butcher&#8217;s Boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I imagine the Knocker-upper also got a Box. My grandmother told me about the knocker-upper in Old Street in the early Twentieth Century.  He would tap on the window with his long stick to wake up those people without a reliable clock. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"433\" height=\"578\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Screenshot-2021-12-26-17.14.04.png\" alt=\"Google search image 'knocker-upper', the lady at top left worked in Limehouse\" class=\"wp-image-1235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Screenshot-2021-12-26-17.14.04.png 433w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Screenshot-2021-12-26-17.14.04-225x300.png 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Google search image of the &#8216;knocker-upper&#8217;, the lady at top left worked in Limehouse and is using a pea-shooter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Richie records that he had to give a tip to 6 people who wished him a Happy Christmas on his way to work. The tip he gave was half a crown each. He thought his wife would be lucky to get away with a shilling per person for the trade men listed above. Strange that he gave more than twice as much to random strangers than his wife gave to people who served them all year. Perhaps this reflects his belief that the size of his tip reflected his position in society.   It is all curmudgeonly.  This is probably because he believed it would be spent on drink, leading to the miseries of drunkenness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"674\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cruikshank0005-1024x674.jpg\" alt=\"The Drunkards Children by Cruikshank  1848. \" class=\"wp-image-6059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cruikshank0005-1024x674.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cruikshank0005-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cruikshank0005-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cruikshank0005-1536x1011.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/cruikshank0005-2048x1348.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Drunkards Children by Cruikshank  1848. Cruikshank was a famous illustrator from a dynasty of visual satirists and  one of Dickens illustrators.  The story shows the effect of alcoholism on a family.  It ends with the suicide from London Bridge of the mother.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>First Published on Dec 26th 2022, Republished December 2023, 2024, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the second day of Christmasmy true love sent to me:2 Turtle Dovesand a Partridge in a Pear Tree Feast Day of St Stephens It is the Feast day of St Stephen. He was the first Christian Martyr and was stoned to death not long after Jesus&#8217; apotheosis. He was a deacon in the early &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Boxing Day &#038; St Stephens Day December 26th&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[112,11,1524,116,113,119,430,321,115,4,100,322],"tags":[433,319,1930,121,1935,431,1933,1936,1931,1221],"class_list":["post-1230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-almanac-of-the-past","category-archaeology","category-asia","category-calendar","category-celtic","category-christian-heritage","category-churches","category-europe","category-folklore","category-london","category-podcasts","category-uk","tag-boxing-day","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-presents","tag-knocker-upper","tag-road-scrapper","tag-st-stephens","tag-sweep","tag-varlets","tag-waits","tag-wren"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Boxing Day &amp; St Stephens Day December 26th - And Did Those Feet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"St Stephen&#039;s Day and the exchange of presents at Christmas and other Victorian customs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boxing Day &amp; St Stephens Day December 26th - And Did Those Feet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"St Stephen&#039;s Day and the exchange of presents at Christmas and other Victorian customs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"And Did Those Feet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-26T22:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-26T22:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin Flude\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin Flude\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin Flude\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f\"},\"headline\":\"Boxing Day &#038; St Stephens Day December 26th\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-26T22:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-26T22:00:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":689,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Boxing Day\",\"Christmas\",\"Christmas presents\",\"knocker-upper\",\"road scrapper\",\"St Stephens\",\"sweep\",\"varlets\",\"waits\",\"Wren\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Almanac of the Past\",\"Archaeology\",\"asia\",\"Calendar\",\"Celtic History\",\"Christian Heritage\",\"Churches\",\"Europe\",\"Folklore\",\"London\",\"Podcasts\",\"UK\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boxing Day & St Stephens Day December 26th - And Did Those Feet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-26T22:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-26T22:00:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"St Stephen's Day and the exchange of presents at Christmas and other Victorian customs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boxing Day &#038; St Stephens Day December 26th\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/\",\"name\":\"And Did Those Feet\",\"description\":\"The Past brought to Life\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f\",\"name\":\"Kevin Flude\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/04-new.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/04-new.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/04-new.jpg\",\"width\":525,\"height\":371,\"caption\":\"Kevin Flude\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/04-new.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/author\\\/kpfludechr-org-uk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Boxing Day & St Stephens Day December 26th - And Did Those Feet","description":"St Stephen's Day and the exchange of presents at Christmas and other Victorian customs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Boxing Day & St Stephens Day December 26th - And Did Those Feet","og_description":"St Stephen's Day and the exchange of presents at Christmas and other Victorian customs.","og_url":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/","og_site_name":"And Did Those Feet","article_published_time":"2025-12-26T22:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-26T22:00:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin Flude","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin Flude","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin Flude","@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/#\/schema\/person\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f"},"headline":"Boxing Day &#038; St Stephens Day December 26th","datePublished":"2025-12-26T22:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-26T22:00:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/"},"wordCount":689,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/#\/schema\/person\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg","keywords":["Boxing Day","Christmas","Christmas presents","knocker-upper","road scrapper","St Stephens","sweep","varlets","waits","Wren"],"articleSection":["Almanac of the Past","Archaeology","asia","Calendar","Celtic History","Christian Heritage","Churches","Europe","Folklore","London","Podcasts","UK"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/","url":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/","name":"Boxing Day & St Stephens Day December 26th - And Did Those Feet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-26T22:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-26T22:00:01+00:00","description":"St Stephen's Day and the exchange of presents at Christmas and other Victorian customs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ststephens_06Mar08_02.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-26th-boxing-day-st-stephens-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Boxing Day &#038; St Stephens Day December 26th"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/","name":"And Did Those Feet","description":"The Past brought to Life","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/#\/schema\/person\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/#\/schema\/person\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f","name":"Kevin Flude","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/04-new.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/04-new.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/04-new.jpg","width":525,"height":371,"caption":"Kevin Flude"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/04-new.jpg"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.chr.org.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/author\/kpfludechr-org-uk\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1230"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9589,"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions\/9589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}