Christmas: Day 26

Christmas is done for another year. In America that means it is back to work for most people but in quite a few countries the day after Christmas is something called Boxing Day. For those places that recognize Boxing Day it is basically an extra holiday. There are parades, parties and an extravaganza of retail sales similar to those of the day after Thanksgiving sales of Black Friday in the United States.

Boxing Day originally was a special day for people to recognize the workers of the service industry by giving tips and gifts to the people who did all the practical work of maintaining a culture's lifestyle. I'm cynical enough to ponder if the timing of Boxing Day meant the poor and tradespeople received the leftovers of the previous day as gratuities but I guess it is the thought that counts.

I'm actually jealous of Boxing Day. It would be great as Christmas becomes less mystical and more secular that the US would graft an extra day off  onto the holiday. More parades and shopping seems like a great idea to me.