Saturday, December 26, 2009

TRIVIA BITS … BOXING DAY

TRIVIA BITS … BOXING DAY
December 26th is known as Boxing Day. No one is really sure when the day was first called Boxing Day. In most countries it is a day to recover from Christmas Day celebrations, although in countries like America, France and Argentina, people go straight back to work. There are, however, customs associated with the day. Perhaps the name evolved from the custom during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries where English apprentices could beg tips form their masters and their masters customers around Christmas time. The money was placed in a small, sealed earthenware box that could only be opened by breaking it. This was done on December 26th. Money was also collected in Alms Boxes in Churches over Christmas. On Christmas Day, they were opened and on Boxing Day their contents were given to the needy. This was the day also when tradesmen such as chimney sweeps might expect a tip for their work throughout the year. Boxing Day was particularly popular on the Australian Goldfields where they often were more festive than a tent Christmas shared by men without families. In time in the Outback, Boxing day became an annual opportunity for men to see friends that had not been seen since they had been away shearing, droving or fencing.

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