BOXING DAY

[Dr. Goodword]

• Boxing Day •

Pronunciation: bahk-sing day • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun phrase

Meaning: No, it isn't a day we traditionally get into the ring, though children overjoyed at the bounty of Christmas might have gotten a boxing of the ears in days past. It is the first weekday following Christmas, the traditional day for giving gifts to servants and employees in the English-speaking world.

Notes: Throughout the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada December 26 is still an official holiday. If the day after Christmas is Saturday or Sunday, Boxing Day is the following Monday.

In Play: Boxing Day is also known as the Feast of St. Stephen, named for the first Christian martyr. It originated in 19th century England under Queen Victoria, when it was the day "on which postmen, errand boys, and servants of various kinds received a Christmas box of contributions from those whom they serve," in the words of Charles Dickens. If you come from one of the unfortunate English-speaking countries that does not recognize Boxing Day, just remember that it comes right after "unboxing" day, Christmas.

Word History: Boxing Day is probably the day after Christmas because servants often worked on Christmas. It was called "Boxing Day" because it was the day when a box was filled with Christmas gifts and delivered to service providers. (We hope that our old friend Grogie of the Alpha Agora has had another wonderful holiday as a reward for suggesting today's very topical, seasonal phrase several years ago.)

[skinem]

I have heard more than one American explain this day in all seriousness as the day in which you are "boxing up" gifts to return to the store...

Few know it's connection to "Good King Wenceslas" (sp?)!

[LukeJavan8]

One of my very favorite Christmas carols!
I had no idea it refers to that good King.
I know people who do think it refers to
boxing up 'returns", Pathetic, we Americans.

[beck123]

Pathetic, some of we Americans. Some of all other nationalities, as well.

I doubt if most Ugandans, Bolivians, or Pakistanis could tell you much about our Thanksgiving Day.

[Slava]

I doubt if most Ugandans, Bolivians, or Pakistanis could tell you much about our Thanksgiving Day.

Then again, how much could most of us say about their worlds?

[beck123]

That's exactly my point, S. It doesn't make us "pathetic" if we're unfamiliar with the holidays - the minor holidays, no less - of other nations, any more than it makes them pathetic for not knowing ours. I was taking umbrage at Luke's statement, above.

[Slava]

That's exactly my point, S. It doesn't make us "pathetic" if we're unfamiliar with the holidays - the minor holidays, no less - of other nations, any more than it makes them pathetic for not knowing ours. I was taking umbrage at Luke's statement, above.

Ah, now I see. Umbrage, such a great word, one of my favorites.

[beck123]

Yes. Here in Florida we are frequently well-advised to take little umbrages with us outdoors in the summer afternoons.

[Slava]

Yes. Here in Florida we are frequently well-advised to take little umbrages with us outdoors in the summer afternoons.

In my not-so-distant past, I would write updates of my Russian experiences to all of my contacts. I called them Mass Missives. One of the phrases I had in mind, but never got to use, was the idea of using an umbrella as a parasol. Rather common, especially among the women.

[beck123]

What has always caught my eye is that both words in English have no origins that have to do with rain, yet the objects themselves are used almost exclusively here for that purpose. "Little shadow" and "for the sun" reveal the original purpose of the devices, and one can still see - very rarely - an elderly person in the South using a parasol on a sunny day. Today tan (and sunscreen) define the skin tones we seek.

[Slava]

What has always caught my eye is that both words in English have no origins that have to do with rain, yet the objects themselves are used almost exclusively here for that purpose. "Little shadow" and "for the sun" reveal the original purpose of the devices, and one can still see - very rarely - an elderly person in the South using a parasol on a sunny day. Today tan (and sunscreen) define the skin tones we seek.

I do believe this is why the parasol came into being. In the not-so-distant past, it was de rigueure to be pasty white, at least among Europeans. They had to protect themselves from the sun, if they ever left the house, that is.

[LukeJavan8]

And this pasty white image is seen magnificently
in the movie "Barry Lyndon".
Seen in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FE1Y8Tw ... re=related

On another level: there was a discussion on a channel
similar to History Channel, as to why in American Western
Movies and TV, men always wear "long-sleeved" shirts.
The answer had nothing to do with the heat or dust, but
rather that the long arm of British Victorian fashion in
the 1800's stretched as far as the American West. The
idea of being "tanned" had not caught on, and long
sleeves insured this not happen.

[beck123]

There were probably no short-sleeved shirts in existence at the time. I've never seen such a thing in old photos. In the American West, as in other desert areas, people dressed to cover themselves completely - convergent evolution, if you will. Think of Arab garments or African dashikis. The only other behavioral option we see expressed among native peoples in deserts is to live almost nude, and that was out of the question for Europeans of the day. Nudity would also not have served well in the winter months. Even today, wranglers wear long-sleeved shirts all year 'round.

Western pioneers, particularly the peripatetic species we call cowboys, probably didn't own many changes of clothing, since each more-or-less carried everything he owned on the back of his horse. Even if short-sleeved shirts were available, the cowboy would likely have opted for a garment that would serve him well in the winter, or in dust storms, or in acacia scrub.