Saint Wenceslaus

Saint Wenceslaus: Feast Day Sept. 28

I’ve heard the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslaus” practically every Christmas and played the song on the piano too, but I never knew he was a saint until recently. When I looked Saint Wenceslaus up and read about him, I learned he was from Bohemia and was a duke and not a king. He was declared a king after his death and proclaimed a saint soon after as tales of his virtue, piety, and care for the poor spread. Today as my family celebrated “Good King Wenceslaus’s” feast day, we took a Christmas theme approach, since, the lyrics of his Christmas carol mention him looking out the window on the Feast of Saint Stephen (The first Christian martyr whose feast day is December 26th).

Craft:

While listening to the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslaus,” we made paper snowflake patters. There are a variety of printable templates at this link that are easy to use. I then discussed with my kids that each snowflake is different and unique and that no two are alike. I told them that is just like people, we are all special and unique and there has never been or ever will be another person just like them.

“Good King Wenceslaus” sung by Bing Crosby

Corporal work of Mercy—Feed the Hungry:

Since Saint Wenceslaus was know for his kindness and charity to the poor, we labeled a jar with the corporal work of mercy “Feed the Hungry”and began collecting money to donate to the hungry as a family during Lent.

Food:

We then made Czech Christmas cookies , since Saint Wenceslaus was from Bohemia which is a region of the Czech Republic. And for dinner, we made “One-Pot Creamy Tuscan Ravioli Soup” since it is filled with the Christmas colors red, green and white. Hope you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating Saint Wenceslaus!

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