Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day for those living in the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries, and according to some historical accounts is a holiday focusing on making sure that those who were not able to have a Christmas Day holiday received a box of gifts, which included agricultural tools, food, cloth and even money. The clergy even got into the act by opening alms boxes and giving the contents to the less fortunate. In other words, it was a way to take care of the “servants” or service people. You were supposed to box up and give away what you had excess of, or didn’t need. Quite a good idea really. Of course, many of our English cousins would tell you that their Boxing Day has turned into nothing much more than a version of our own “day after Christmas sale extravaganzas”, where consumers continue to snatch up store bargains while still trying to figure out how to store all the newly acquired goodies from the day before. Ah well, I suppose it was inevitable really. It would have been nice though, if Americans had adopted the true spirit of Boxing Day, instead of the other way around. Now, its just another day to stand in line searching for yet another elusive bargain.