There are four parts to this series, “Do It Yourself”, on You Tube:

One…

…Two.

These next two sections aren’t exactly relevant to New Year’s, but they’re funny. I hope I never actually meet anybody like Mr. Bean.

Part Three…

…and Four.

I was listening to this version of Good King Wenceslaus last year…

… and began to wonder, “What does the Feast of Stephen involve?” I must admit, I am naturally attracted to superstitions and traditions, and, while I know who St. Stephen is and what he is famous for, I was not so clear on how his day was and is celebrated. I therefore googled “Feast of Stephen”, and found some general articles dealing with a long list of saints, feasts, holidays, and traditions.

At the time, this turned out to be one of the better pages.

However, this one (from Hubpages) gives a different picture of the holiday, and explains about the tradition involving a wren. “Strange,” I thought to myself – but who am I to say? After all, I’ve never tried it.”

If you do celebrate this day, or have other traditions or aspects you think I should know about, please comment. I look forward to learning about this holiday.

The Feast of Stephen is today. So yesterday’s song, in a way, belongs to today. I was going to tell you about the feast, and how it got started, but one fellow has already done such a good job that I leave it to him.

So, for you curious ones, here is all about the Feast of Stephen, as well as other Christmas lore.

“King Wenceslaus” was actually a duke named Vaclav. Duke Vaclav ruled Bohemia (the Czech Republic) with Christian justice until his pagan brother Boleslav assassinated him. The duke was a devout Christian whose short life was riddled with political intrigue, murder and pagan influences.

Vaclav’s Christian grandparents ruled Bohemia at a time when the Slavic nations were being introduced to the gospel. Vaclav’s grandfather built the first Christian church in the Czech Republic, north of Prague. Vaclav’s father, Duke Vratislav I, followed  in his parents’ footsteps, becoming a passionate Christian and teaching his son Christian values.

Vaclav’s life was thrown into turmoil after his father died leaving his mother, Drahomira to rule. Drahomira, a former pagan, ruled Bohemia with greed and cruelty. After his father’s death, Vaclav sought sanctuary with his grandmother, Ludmila. A gentle and popular Christian, Ludmila was passionate about helping her grandson become a good Christian leader.

Ludmila encouraged Vaclav to overthrow his mother’s reign. Drahomira responded by having Ludmila strangled. While still in his teen years, Vaclav wrested the throne from his mother and turned Bohemia back to Christian ways.

During his reign, Duke Vaclav was generous towards orphans, widows and the poor. He frequently carried wood to the needy, visited those in prison and ransomed captives. He welcomed German missionaries and built churches.

Vaclav’s reign was ended when his pagan brother convinced a group of anti-Christian nobles to kill him. Boleslav invited his brother to a feast. On his way to the dinner, the Duke was stabbed on the church doorsteps. While dying, Vaclav’s last words were, “Brother, may God forgive you!” The Bohemians were greatly dismayed  and immediately honored Vaclav as a martyr.

In 1853, John Neale, wrote the carol “Good King Wenceslaus” (You Tube) after hearing the story of duke Vaclav from British soldiers returning from Eastern Europe. The British minister specifically wrote the song for children, extolling the virtues of generosity. “Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing; ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.”

- from October 2008 “Voice of the Martyrs” magazine

This gorgeous song is respectufully and hauntingly performed, and sheds yet another light on the Christmas Eve Truce legend. This is the last post I’ve planned on this topic this year.

This Victorian song-story…

…by Lorenna McKennit, a retelling of the first Christmas story, is a delightful mixture of two time periods…and two poverty-stricken children.

At least, One of them is rich, now…and willing to share His riches with those of us who are willing to have them.

I’ve begun another deer hide, and I wanted to show you how it turned out so far. I’m happy with what I’m learning, and, after cleaning four other hides, can see a significant difference in my fleshing skills.

Will nicked this one in places while skinning it, but most of the nicks were near the edge, and won’t matter much. I cut a few of them out, as the tender hide around the belly stretched and tore, leaving holes, not nicks.

I first soaked the hide in  a cold bath, being careful to sprinkle on several handfuls of rock salt  to deter bacterial action (spoiling). Due to near-freezing air circulating under the house, the tub was cold enough that the water itself wasn’t much above freezing. This meant I didn’t have to worry much about rotting, even if I hadn’t used salt.

The hide soaked for three days, because I didn’t have time to flesh it. When I finally did begin, I began with the hide still mostly lying in the tub (I had let the water out), and pulled off big pieces of the “twitch” meat (used for twitching flies away from the back and ribs). After doing this, I realized I didn’t need a special arrangement for fleshing, and settled the hide over the edge of the tub to finish.

As I only had time to do part of the hide the first evening, the laundry basket was used to hold it, rolled up with hair side out, in the almost-freezing garage until I could continue. I first spread on more rock salt, covering every inch ofhide, in hopes that it would help dry up the tissues, making them peel off more willingly.

Yesterday, I took two hours to finish – altogether, the process took about three. I straddled the edge of the tub, working from whichever direction seemed easiest, and while I’m sure there’s a more efficient way to do this job, it’s the best I’ve managed yet. I scraped off about two saucepan-fuls of fat, meat, and other tissues. I’m convinced the extra salting while the hide was in the garage helped dry up the tissues and fat, allowing them to come off easier.

Now it is white, shiny, fat-free, clean and warm – all the makings of a good bed-cover, provided the hair continues to hold well. If not, it will become part of my growing leather collection.

Now the trick is to get it dried out enough to store until I can finish working it. Our wet, freezing weather isn’t helping much.

 Doesn’t it look perfectly cuddly?

A short, historical commentary of the fight at Belleau Wood, accompanied by original film clips. This fight was not the same event as the Christmas Eve Truce, but is bound up in the same legend, and is worth learning about. (The sound on the video is rather quiet - turn your volume up.)

Down in the bleak December bay

The ghostly vessel stands away;

Her spars and halyards white with ice,

Under the dark December skies.

A hundred souls, in company,

Have left the vessel pensively, -

Have reached the frosty desert there,

And touched it with the knees of prayer.

And now the day begins to dip,

The night begins to lower

Over the bay, and over the ship

Mayflower.

Neither the desert nor the sea

Imposes rites: their prayers are free;

Danger and toil the wild imposes,

And thorns must grow before the roses.

And who are these? – and what distress

The savage-acred wilderness

On mother, maid, and child may bring,

Beseems them for a fearful thing;

For nw the day begins to dip,

The night begins to lower

Over the bay, and over the ship

Mayflower.

But Carver leads (in heart and health

A hero of the commonwealth)

The axes that the camp requires,

To build and lodge, and heap the fires.

And Standish from his warlike store

Arrays his men along the shore,

Distributes weapons resonant,

And dons his harness militant;

For now the day begins to dip,

The night begins to lower

Over the bay, and over the ship

Mayflower;

And Rose, his wife, unlocks a chest -

She sees a Book, in vellum dressed,

She drops a tear, and kisses the tome,

Thinking of England and of home:

Might they – the Pilgrims, there and then

Ordained to do the work of men -

Have seen, in visions of the air,

While pillowed on the breast of prayer

(When now the day began to dip,

The night began to lower

Over the bay, and over the ship

Mayflower),

The Canaan of their wilderness

A boundless empire of sucess;

And seen the years of future nights

Jewelled with myriad household lights;

And seen the noney fill the hive;

And seen a thousand ships arrive;

And heard the wheels of travel go;

It would have cheered a thought of woe,

When now the day began to dip,

The night began to lower

Over the bay, and over the ship

Mayflower.

- Erastus Wolcott Ellsworth, from The Family Book of Best Loved Poems, ed. by David L. George

Another version of the song “Belleau Wood,” accompanied by photographs of soldiers in the trenches -