Day 360 – Happy Boxing Day!

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360/365 (December 26, 2010) – Wall-E is making another appearance to wish everyone a Happy Boxing Day!

Once, when I was in the USA, I was having a conversation with some American students about differing holidays. Boxing Day came up, it is not a special day of any sort in America, even in Canada it is classed as an optional holiday in all Provinces and Territories except Ontario. The American students thought it meant that this was the day that we boxed up the Christmas things and put them away. Well, at least they didn’t think it meant we all got drunk and punched each other.

They were surprised to learn that Boxing Day (also known as St. Stephen’s Day) began in England and was a day when the service workers were thanked with gifts of food, money, clothing, and other goods.

I’d be curious to know when Boxing Day became synonymous with “Everyone to the Mall to stand in line for hours in the hopes of getting a good deal on crap you really don’t need”