Boxing Day!

For those who may not be familiar with Boxing Day it is a national holiday on December 26 in England, Australia and Canada to name a few. The purpose originally was to allow those who had to work on Christmas to have a day that they could unwrap their presents.

A lot of Americans are not familiar with Boxing Day because it is not a holiday here. The only reason I know of Boxing Day is that my mother was born and raised in Canada and she observed the day every year. In fact she would have family and friends over every year for dinner. Included in the menu was spiced beef and wine. Usually guests were asked to bring something that would be snacks before the dinner. If you were invited over for Boxing Day dinner by my mother it meant that you were pretty good friends of hers. There were usually a total of ten people over because that is all the room that could be held at the dinner room table; so usually three or four couples were invited over each year.

Mother always considers tradition being very important and having Boxing Day dinner was on the list of traditions. She did this through her ninetieth birthday. She ended the dinner because she put a lot of hard work into it and she felt that she was too old to do it any longer. I asked her why not ask people over and they could bring the food. She said it was her thing and the time was up. I guess you can say a great tradition ended that year.

If you have never done anything on Boxing Day I think it would be a good thing to do starting this year and for many years to come. You can do something like my mother or just have friends over for a good time. The day may not have a lot of meaning to you however it is a good day to add on another holiday. Why not I say! I end here wishing everyone a wonder Boxing Day and good cheers.