Added: 04/29/2007 |
Taking Part In The Boxing Day Lunch?The Boxing Day lunch is something that is shared between family members, including extended family members on the day after Christmas. This day, not at all like it sounds, is celebrated in Canada and in the England countries. The day after Christmas is traditionally a day to gift someone who is less fortunate than yourself, or someone who is in your employ a gift.
Traditionally, the celebration was spent by the church’s donations to the poor, employers placing coins in the boxes of their employees as a sort of “bonus” at the end of the year and families giving to extended family members who they don’t see every day. Taking the time to spend with family and friends was the emphasis and nothing else was open in the marketplace. Banks and other important institutions took it upon themselves to observe the Boxing Day holiday by closing their doors and allowing their employees time to spend celebrating with families.
Servants had a different Boxing Day lunch; however. The true Boxing Day lunchtime was spent preparing and serving the Boxing Day lunch to their master’s family. Therefore, the next day (December 27th) was taken off work by the servants in order to celebrate their Boxing Day Lunch. Done much in the same way, the servants were allowed to bring home the “boxes” of left over foods from their master’s feasts. Usually combined with other, more specific favorites, the servants were allowed to be absent from work for one whole day.
Today, however, the Boxing Day lunch is spend with family members; however, instead of the traditional ways of spending time, many sit in front of famous rivalries playing football, shopping the retail sales of merchants trying desperately to eliminate their excess inventory in preparation for the new year’s inventory stock. The football rivalries are fierce, as the most able competitors are matched together for fierce battles. Manchester, Portsmouth, Blackburn and others are all gearing up for a season of play with the hopes to end the year at the Boxing Day game. Match ups begin earlier in the year and as each team is eliminated, the foes are chosen. With thousands in the stands each year, the aggregate gate is around two million people for all games played. The United Kingdom and Canada take their football as seriously as the United States does.
Many charitable organizations also participate in this event; however, it is not traditionally done on the United Kingdom or Canada’s traditional Boxing Day. Giving to others and making sure to give something back is the main focus of the holiday. While it is possible to do good all year long, Boxing Day is a time of reflection, a time to remember those less fortunate and a time to spend with family members you may or may not see all year long. No one is really sure when the tradition began, but it is said that even the kings and monarchs of the early English empires gave coins and other gifts as a way to show appreciation for a hard years worth of work.
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