.............................................isn't a holiday in most parts of the world............so Lucky Us!
Boxing Day became a "thing" around the 1830's and the name comes from the custom of giving "Christmas boxes" to servants and apprentices and the tradesmen who delivered to the house.
This below is from the book 'Cattern Cakes and Lace' by Julia Jones and Barbara Deer, and has a bit more explanation about the 26th and a gruesome story of the custom of 'Hunting the Wren'.
And then I came across this song
Boxing Day in Mid Suffolk is much less violent!
(much of this post is repeated from many years ago, so you might have seen it before!)
Many thanks for all the Happy Christmas wishes yesterday. It was lovely to have Youngest Daughter and Eldest Granddaughter here. They went home before dark as it turned very foggy. I then quickly popped over to see Son, DiL and the two grandchildren who have DiL's sister staying with her partner and gorgeous little fella Sunny who is coming up to one year old. He was asleep but still nice to say hello to the grown ups. I could have gone over to Sister in Laws but by then it was dark and very foggy. Fog in the country is different to fog in town! and I don't like driving in dark and fog, it's easy to lose the road edges.
So home to watch the Strictly Christmas Special and Doctor Who. I love the BBC feature of the green button which puts the programme back to beginning - it's so handy.
If you didn't get to see 'Doctor Who at the Proms' which was on TV on Christmas Eve, (and possibly on earlier in the year too) it's worth a watch, the music was fantastic.
Back Soon
Sue
Foggy here in the night, I couldn't see the lights from the Quarry, but here it is a river mist sort of fog, down in the valley. That said, it was very foggy up in the Cambrian mountains when Tam was driving across with Rosie on C/Eve.
ReplyDeleteHunting the Wren seems to have been a Celtic custom and I'm glad it's died out.
Yes I like the green button top. Gladyou had a good day, agree completely about country fog
ReplyDeleteThere have been some cruel country customs. I'm glad that hunting the wren is now acted rather than practised.
ReplyDeleteWe had a city friend come to stay with us in the Autumn and she was shocked by how thick the fog was here and I had to explain that it wasn't actually that bad. As you say, it is a totally different beast in the countryside.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a lovely day yesterday. It was very foggy here too and very damp this morning too. 10am and so dark I can't seem to get going! Must do it though as the family are coming to lunch at 1pm.
ReplyDeleteHave another lovely day Sue x
We are home today after spending almost 2 days with daughter and her three, after the excitement, it's nice to be home.
ReplyDeleteThey call it Stephens Day in Ireland.
ReplyDelete'Hunting the Wren'. I remember reading that here before. The poor birds- scapegoats for hard times, that's all they were. Here in America, we seem to be scapegoating groups of people these days, looking around and blaming others for our woes.
ReplyDeleteI have the cat tern Cakes and Lace book…love it. X
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