Good King Wenceslas Was A Great Gift Giver
Wenceslas was a real person before he was a song. But it turns out he wasn’t really a king, only a duke. What a rip-off.
Everyone knows the Christmas carol. Sing along here, in your best baritone:
Good King Wenceslas look-ed out,
On the Feast of Stephen.
Something, something, da-da-da,
Deep and crisp and e-ven!
Wenceslas I (909-935), Duke of Bohemia, may not have been a king in his lifetime, but he has been the patron saint of the Czech people for the last 1,000 years, which ain’t too shabby.
Maybe it’s best to think of him as two people: King Wenceslas, the legendary generous saint, and Duke Wenceslas, the real-life clever state-builder.
Wenceslas, Man in History
When Duke Wenceslas lived in the early 900s, central Europe was still split between a more Christian west and a more pagan east, with Bohemia right smack in the middle. His dad was a Christian, and his mom was a pagan.
Dad died when Wenceslas was a teenager so Mom and Grandma fought over how he would be raised. Granny won, and he was a devout Christian for the rest of his life.
During his lifetime, the Holy Roman Empire was just getting rolling, and Wenceslas faced pressure from the Germans rolling right into his domain.
Duke Wenceslas figured that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and Bohemia became one of the richest principalities in the HRE. This also aligned him with the pope in Rome over the patriarch in Constantinople, giving the Catholic Church a boost over the Orthodox Church.
Wenceslas was renowned for his piety and his generosity. When the emperor asked what gift he would like, he opted for the relics of a revered saint. When the poor asked from him, he showered them with alms.
This generosity extended beyond holy actions. When he was successful in battle, he showered booty on his soldiers. He knew he had to keep his followers loyal, and well-rewarded troops are happier and less mutiny-y than hungry ones.
Sadly, not everyone loved Wenceslas. He was killed by his brother, Boleslav the Cruel, who replaced him on the throne. Nobody was happy about this, but the deed was done and the fix was in: Boleslav earned his less-than-admirable nickname and Wenceslas earned immediate sainthood.
Holy Roman Emperor Otto I later gave the pious saint the status of king posthumously. So, while he was Duke Wenceslas in life, he lives on as Good King Wenceslas in song and legend. He has a monument in Prague’s Wenceslas Square, and that plaza isn’t named for some other Wenceslas.
Wenceslas, Legend in Song
The famous Christmas carol tells the story of Wenceslas helping a poor man in need while celebrating the Feast of Stephen. The Feast of Saint Stephen is December 26, known as Boxing Day in Canada and in the USA is the day you return all the gifts you got for store credit worth 25% of what the giver paid for the unappreciated gift.
Duke Wenceslas may be beloved by the Czechs, but the Christmas carol has multinational origins that stretch way back in history. In 1582, a Finnish student compiled dozens of medieval hymns while at school in Germany and included the song.
In 1853, an English hymn writer put together the story and the tune, and it’s been sung ever since all over. Even if you only know half of the words of the first stanza, it’s still fun to hum. And after reading this, it’s likely to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
The beloved Duke / King Wenceslas was known for his generosity, and so too must you lavish gifts upon your team at the end of the year if you too want to be beloved.
If you think that your employees get a paycheck and should be grateful for that, you might have a different Christmas story character as your role model, and that’s one whose Scrooge-y name you probably don’t want applied to you.
Not to be confused with a “yearly bonus” that is usually based on a combination of company / team / personal success metrics, holiday gifts from a boss are always appreciated, and often expected.
If you’ve been a boss for years and can’t recall giving any gifts, you’re not alone, but you’re not in the majority. Most bosses do give a little extra from their own pocket, and if you don’t, yes, your team has talked about this behind your back.
If you have a small team, then you might have bandwidth to think about a special, unique gift for each person. If you have a large team, there is no shame at all in a one-size-fits-all gift that works for everyone.
If you’re co-located, a team happy hour could work. Boozy gifts are easy and appreciated, unless they’re offensive and inappropriate. You have to know your company / team culture. If finances are tight, a handwritten note of appreciation might be perfect, and usually better than whatever you got at the white elephant party.
Remember, it’s the thought that counts, so take a minute to have a thought how hard your team has worked and how much you appreciate them for it. Then spread the holiday cheer.
