Blogmas 2016 – Boxing Day

Day 26

In Canada, as in many Commonwealth countries, we celebrate December 26th as “Boxing Day”. It had some meaning way back to do with servants and civil servants collecting boxes of gifts or cash as tokens of appreciation.

These days, it is more in line with “the day after Christmas shopping day” much like Black Friday is with American Thanksgiving. It is a federal holiday so government offices, banks, etc. are all closed. If the 26th is on a Saturday or Sunday, the day off is the first weekday after. This year, because Christmas was Sunday, Boxing Day is observed on Monday, December 26th and people like my husband who is a bus driver get Tuesday off for Christmas Day.

In past years, before my pain and fatigue stopped me from doing things I love, my husband and I were very involved in the technical end of our church. We ran the booth with a team of sound and video techs. I was the creative one, training people to project song lyrics, videos, images, on the screen via computer. Hubby worked on the sound board, microphones, lights, and monitors.

We had a really great team who rotated week to week. However, we usually ran the booth for special events such as weddings, memorial services, Good Friday, and, Christmas Eve. For many years now our church as done two services on the 24th and there was much preparation that went into it. Because of location, we didn’t get to see family on Christmas Eve as there wasn’t time after the second service. But we were extremely dedicated and loved being part of the celebration.

The thing was, with us usually hosting a dinner on Christmas Day as well, by Boxing Day we were exhausted (and this is BEFORE all our health problems. So, Boxing Day was our day to do something relaxing. Usually, we would rent a few movies (before Netflix) and occasionally we would even go to a movie. I remember one year we actually did both!

We would also go out for dinner, or order in. My favorite has always been Chinese; however, going out for sushi is high on my list.

When we stepped down from our volunteer duties we still tried to keep to Boxing Day as an “us” day. With all the busyness of yesterday, cooking, cleaning and entertaining, today will be a very quiet one. I am in extreme pain which I totally expected from being on my feet most of the day and eating many of the wrong foods. But it was all well worth it!

There is a small skiff of snow on the ground which gives me reason enough not to go out. We don’t need to buy dinner as there is a lot of food left (safe food at that!).

So, Happy Boxing  Day to one and all! Whether you are braving the sales or staying in and keeping warm, I wish you well.

Lydia!