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Boxing Day
No, I'm not talking about pugilism. Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated on the 26th of December in the UK, Canada and several other Commonwealth countries. It originated in the UK, that much is certain, but there are many stories about how the holiday truly came to be. Perhaps it goes back to the Middle Ages, or even earlier. It may have begun as a tradition of capturing a wren and carrying it in a box on the day for luck in the new year. It could be from the box of supplies given to serfs once per year by the lord and landowner. Maybe the holiday comes from the day servants, who had to work on Christmas, were allowed off and to take home the boxed leftovers from their master's Christmas feast and left boxed meals for their wealthy bosses to eat in their absence. Or perhaps it was the custom of opening the holiday alms boxes on the day after Christmas to distribute to the poor. There are many such theories and many proofs that each is the real source of the tradition that is Boxing Day but in all likelihood the real truth lies somewhere amidst them all. What I've described above though are old traditions, no longer really relative in modern times. Now, those who celebrate Boxing Day may use it as a time to be with family, or a day to recover from Christmas. Many will also shop - Boxing Day is the biggest shopping day of the year in some countries rivalling even our own "Black Friday" in retail sales. But a new-old tradition I've been hearing more about in the last few years is one of using this day to pay thanks to those who have helped you throughout the year - particularly "service" workers: people whose jobs make your life function, or function easier. Interesting, you say, but what's it all have to do with the library? Well, this new tradition strikes me as an idea for remembering that we're all part of a community and that life is a lot easier because of the hard work of those around us. In our library we couldn't get by without the hard work of our many volunteers for certain, but also folks like our letter carrier who doesn't just carry letters for us but also crates of Inter-Library-Loans and magazines every day; our cleaning service who clean the bathrooms and vacuum and dust; our landscaper who keeps us from being overrun with weeds; our maintenance workers who fix things when they break... The library isn't just a centre of information - it is a centre of community (well, in my humble opinion anyway). As such I offer this rather lengthy article with information about this odd little holiday along with the hope that readers might have an extra smile and thanks today for any volunteers you see, or the person who sells you your coffee, or your letter carrier or nurse or construction worker... And if you're curious, come on in to the library and I can tell you more about this holiday and many others. For example, today is also "St. Stephen's Day", the "Day of Goodwill" and the start of the World Junior Hockey Championship. Happy all of these to you! |
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