3rd Day of Christmas in Shakespeare's time - Feast John the Evangelist (Series, Part 3)
This 3rd day of Christmas, December 27, in Shakespeare’s time as now, was St. John the Evangelist’s Day. John was called “the beloved disciple,” said to be with Jesus’ mother at the foot of the cross [1]. Scheduled in the Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer to be read this day, John 21 says that John “leaned on [Jesus’] breast at supper” [2]. Some in Shakespeare’s time may have thought that Jesus and John were homosexual - or such views may have been falsely attributed to playwright Christopher Marlowe to smear him. Writings attributed to John speak of the “Word made flesh” [3], and of how “God is love,” so they who “abide in love, abide in God,” and God in them (1 Jn 4:16). John’s gospel is the only one that claims Thomas was absent when Jesus first appeared in the upper room after his death, but that Jesus appears again with Thomas present, and he comes to believe [4]. From this we get the idea of “doubting Thomas,” which influenced Shakespeare’s first scene of Hamlet ...
