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| Christmas morning at my house |
So I did a little bit of internet research. I suppose I could have asked the British contingent of the team, but I came up with this idea while they were snug in their beds, then managed to way oversleep myself this morning. Internet research it is.
There are a few theories where the term Boxing Day, a secular holiday, comes from.
-'Christmas Box' refers to Christmas present.
-Possible reference to the boxes churches placed on Christmas for a special collection of money for the poor.
-Or the boxes placed by churches for a special collection for the Feast of St Stephen. It is unclear in my brief searches, but this may or may not be related to the above.
-Another theory is my favorite...only because I love the series Downtown Abbey so much (season 3 starts in 11 short days!) and it reminds me of that. Wealthy Brits needed their servants to run the house on Christmas Day. Therefore they would get the following day off to spend with their own families and would be sent on their way with a Christmas box filled with food and gifts.
What do people DO on Boxing Day? Well...according to Wikipedia, it may have originally been a day to spend with family and friends, eating and relaxing, it's morphed into a big day of sporting events and is in the process of morphing into a big day of....wait for it....SHOPPING!
In fact, when I went in search of images to use in this post, my first search was Boxing Day images free. Which turned up a bunch of sale ads and sporting events. Hmmm...
So I changed it to Boxing Day images. Which turned up a bunch of ads, people waiting in lines at shopping centers, and sporting events...
Lesley Watt, half of the British contingent of AJE, just posted a status update on her THEAjewellery Facebook page this morning that she's spending the day tearing apart old designs to reuse the beads in new designs.
Personally I am going to sit here and watch the snow that just started a little bit ago as it comes down over the lake.
And shop for deals online...especially from my AJE mates who are having sales because I've been coveting a few things. So if you have some Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket, this week is a great time to shop handmade jewelry (jewellery) components
Jen Cameron- coupon code: HOLIDAY20 gets you 20% off through December 31st.
Linda Landig-coupon code: ENDOFYEAR2012 for 15% off
Joanne Tinley-15% discount is currently in place on her website. For discounts in her Etsy Jewellery shop and Etsy component shop, use coupon code: HAPPYHOLIDAYS to get 15% off
Rebekah Payne-coupon code MERRY15 for 15% off
Susan Kennedy-coupon code: ENDOFYEAR for 25% off
Melissa Meman - coupon code: HOLIDAY for 20% off through the end of December
Happy Boxing Day!
-Jen Cameron
This was interesting, Jen. I'd always assumed it had something to do with the sport of boxing, which I detest. I was happy to read the explainations you found online.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to read Downtown Abbey series starts up in 11 days!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the history lesson. I've always wondered what this holiday was but never have done the research.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links to the sales!
speaking as the other half of the British AJE contingent, I was always taught the "Downton Abbey" version! Mind you I was also told that the boxes the servants were given more often or not contained material so they could make their new uniforms for the following year
ReplyDeleteWe spent our Boxing Day visiting friends - and helping our boys put yet more Lego models together!
What?!?! Boxes filled with fabric so they could make new uniforms? That's a pretty crappy present...
DeleteIt sounds like you had a lovely day.
More generous employers also gave food and treats the servants could take to their families, but not all were generous!
DeleteWe did have a lovely day, thanks, but I need to find more room for all this Lego!!
Oh, thanks for the explanation, I was wondering too....and for the links! :)
ReplyDelete