Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Boxing Day

I've been asked by a number of people: "What exactly is Boxing Day?"
One idea of course is that the Brits, who don't have Thanksgiving, only get together on this once a year holiday at Christmas. The relationships have worn so thin that by the day after they get out the boxing gloves! A fine idea, but not the case. 

More likely, and diarist Samuel Pepys mentions it in his 17th century accounts, is that on the day following Christmas the upper classes would hand out Christmas boxes to their staff.  These boxes would contain small amounts of money and occasionally left over food - Yummy! And who said the upper classes lacked generosity!

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