Book of Days

THIRD DAY of CHRISTMAS
Holy Innocents Day, Childremas

“Christmas is for children” is something we hear at times, often from older folks who have fallen out of touch with their own sense of wonder. It is a statement with which I heartily disagree. Christmas is for everyone. Nonetheless, here we have a day that has always been devoted to children. It is the Third Day of Christmas, Childremas, or Holy Innocents Day. The Christmas story begins with peace and wonder but quickly turns, for the world has always been threatened by the insecurities of weak people in positions of power. The news of the birth of a king did not sit well with King Herod of Judea, and he ordered the slaughter of all the children of the land. This day honors those children and all children.

In last year’s chapter of the Convivio Book of Days for Childremas, we mentioned the tradition of the Boy Bishop. One of our readers, Kathy Whalen in England, wrote that Manchester Cathedral had recently elected a girl bishop for the first time, the first in the United Kingdom. Well done, we thought! Here’s the tradition, one that goes back to medieval times throughout Europe: a Boy Bishop would be elected at cathedrals each year on St. Nicholas’ Day, the Sixth of December. He was typically chosen from the boys in the choir and for the duration of his reign, which typically ended on Childremas, he wore bishop’s vestments and performed all the duties of a bishop, save for celebrating Mass. In some places, the actual bishop would be obliged to follow the orders of the Boy Bishop, which calls to mind the Feast of Fools, which will be celebrated tomorrow on the Fourth Day of Christmas, when the normal order of things is ceremoniously turned on its head. This melding of Childremas and the Feast of Fools probably is informed by the words of the Magnificat: God has put down the mighty from their throne and has exalted the humble and the meek. On the Third Day of Christmas, typically, the Boy Bishop would be allowed to return to being a child once again (though we noticed the Girl Bishop at Manchester Cathedral last year had to be a bishop all the way to Epiphany!).

One of the oldest traditions for Childremas is the ceremonial exchange of token blows using evergreen branches of birch or pine or rosemary or bay: parents beat their children, children beat their parents, husbands and wives beat each other, and masters and servants exchanged blows, too. The beatings were in good fun and were not at all done with malice or cruelty. Along with the beatings came the words, “Fresh, green, fair and fine! Gingerbread and brandy-wine!” or else, “Fresh green! Long life! Give me a coin!”

Finally, in Spain and Latin America, the Third Day of Christmas is a day for practical jokes, kind of like April Fools Day. The victims of these jokes are known as inocentes, although sometimes it is the prankster that gets that name in a plea for forgiveness. No matter how you spend the day, the theme, it seems, is universal: celebrating and honoring children… and perhaps reconnecting with the child you once were, revisiting the land we all came from. And why not? Tomorrow is the Feast of Fools. Here’s your chance to practice for that.

Image: Seth and I were married, after twenty years together, this past October 26. All our nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews played their parts, some carrying flowers, some carrying pumpkins. They are the kids in our lives, and here they all are in this photograph by Charles Pratt.

THIRD DAY of CHRISTMAS:
Holy Innocents’ Day, Childremas

The Christmas story is not entirely one of peace and harmony. King Herod was one of those greatly disturbed by the news of the birth of the child at Bethlehem, as the story goes, he responded by ordering the slaughter of the children of Judea. These are the Holy Innocents we remember especially on the Third Day of Christmas. It has long been considered an unlucky day, and there are many people who will avoid beginning any venture on the 28th of December for this very reason.

Being focused on those unfortunate children, the Third Day of Christmas has always been about children. One of the oldest traditions associated with this day is the ceremonial beating of children. And before everyone gets all bent out of shape about this, or thinks that I am advocating any particular method of child-rearing, let’s just step back and remember that it was not that long ago that even schools practiced corporal punishment for naughty children. (I was a boy when we moved here to Florida and I distinctly remember being seated in the dean’s office at Deerfield Beach Middle School on my first day with another new kid. He welcomed us, then pulled a wooden paddle out from behind his desk and said, “Ya know, we paddle here, boys,” and I pretty much resolved then to keep out of trouble. And I did.)

The ceremonial beatings for Childremas would be done often with evergreen branches of pine or rosemary or bay, often accompanied by the words Fresh, green, fair and fine / Gingerbread and brandy-wine! The “beatings” were not just for the children; even husbands and wives would exchange token blows on the Third Day of Christmas, as would servants and masters. All of this was in done in good fun and was not at all cruel.

If practical jokes seem childish, then this connection with children may explain the tradition through Spain and Latin America of practical jokes on the Third Day of Christmas. It’s kind of like April Fools’ Day, except the exclamation after the prank is “Inocente!” and the victims of the pranks are called inocentes, too… which obviously takes us back to the Holy Innocents.

In medieval Europe, a Boy Bishop would be elected at cathedrals each Sixth of December for St. Nicholas’ Day. He wore bishop’s vestments and performed all the duties of a bishop (save for celebrating Mass) and his reign ended today, on Childremas, when the Boy Bishop was allowed to be a child once more. The idea of turning reality on its head was a popular one back then, and we’ll see this again tomorrow on the Fourth Day of Christmas with the Feast of Fools.

Of course, children love to turn reality on its head, and this is often the great divide between children and adults. We adults are much less willing to suspend our disbelief and we sometimes are poorer for it. I think of Childremas as a good day to honor children but also to honor the children that we once were. That child is still there, deep inside, deeper for some than for others. But it is important to reconnect with that child every now and then. So go on, break out the marbles or the pogo stick or the video games and give these things you once loved another shot. If you know children now––your own kids or grandkids or nieces or nephews, or the neighbor’s kids––teach them a favorite game you remember from your childhood. Chances are you will both enjoy it.

Image: An old engraving of a Boy Bishop attended by his canons.