Today contained sunshine amide light clouds and slightly above freezing temperatures. While making lunch, there were very light flurries in the air at times. Overall, it was a pleasant and quiet day.
Boxing day is celebrated on December 26th in some of the Commonwealth Nations. The history of the day is somewhat murky. One suggestion is that on this day, alms boxes in early Christian era churches involved special collections and then the boxes were opened and funds distributed to lower income individuals. Queen Victoria gave the day it's name. During the 1800s, wealthy home owners provided their servants with boxes of food and gifts to share with their families. The workers were also given the day off. At some times, owners and workers or officers and enlisted personnel exchanged places for the day. Sadly, the day has become less about giving and more about getting with Boxing Day sales that rival Black Friday sales in the US. It has been suggested that due to the pandemic over the past two seasons, many of the sales have gone online and have started the week before Christmas -- hence Boxing Week arrived as a term for crass commercialized sales. I have gone out in past years to procure holiday cards for the next year. To be honest, I found the craziness of the shoving and pushing and such way more than I was ready to deal with. I have avoided these sales events for decades now. <smile>
Given the usual silliness of crowds on a 26th sales day, one might think the name came from the physical nature of shoving and such in crowded situations. That idea brought a song to mind. Just my quirkiness coming through again <grin>. Keep safe. Enjoy!
The Boxer -- Simon and Garfunkel`
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