The 8th Day of Christmas in Shakespeare's Time - January 1, Feast of the Circumcision (Series, Part 8)
THE 8th DAY of CHRISTMAS, January 1 in Shakespeare’s England as now, was the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus,* a ritual for Jewish boys eight days after birth (hence the eight day), but also required of converts to Judaism. [* What a way to start the new year!] All but one of the day’s readings mention circumcision [1], first asked of Abraham as a sign of his covenant with God [2], later not required of Gentile converts to Christianity due to St. Paul’s intervention [3]. The day’s scriptures also speak of figurative “circumcision of the heart” [4][5][6], repenting of sinful attachments to earthly things that inhibit charity, or “caritas,” God-like love. Abraham was also to circumcise male servants and household members, including Ishmael, his son by his wife Sarah’s servant Hagar, and by this all in Shakespeare’s time understood that not only Jews, but also Muslims (“Turks” and “Moors”) were also circumcised. “Jew” or “Jewry” is mentioned about 80 times in Shakespeare, in 11 p...