What on earth is boxing day?
Typically in Australia Boxing day is the recovery day after Christmas, the day that Aussies pull out their lilos/ banana lounges and lay back and watch the Cricket Test Match on the television.
Christmas in Australia is in our Summer and the day itself is usually hot.
Christmas is a bit of a contradiction for us Aussies as we see Christmas around us in the World depicted as snow and cosy cold weather. Even our Christmas greeting cards have pictures of snow flakes and Winter scenes on them.
Most Aussies never will see snow in their lifetime so it is quite strange. Even Christmas trees have tinsel wrapped around them, I presume this is to represent snow. We have a saying here in Australia ” you wouldn’t have a snowflakes chance in hell”.. well that saying could be applied in our Great Southern HOT Land. A snowflake on our Christmas tree would last a micro second.
It is true the we in Australia are still influenced today by our Colonial beginnings and our Motherland. We still have most of our traditions from England even down to our HOT Christmas Roast dinner which really does not make any sense in our hot climate.
Still, we persist with sweat rolling down our faces as we bake our Christmas hams in hot kitchens with all the plastic utensils melting around us.
So with every fan and air conditioner turned on we soldier on in our quest for a Traditional Christmas. By the time for our Christmas dinner we are usually so hot that we have lost our appetite BUT we eat, and eat , and eat
This is where Boxing Day is important
it is the day where Mothers ( after cleaning up from the day before ) can finally put their feet up and eat a slice of Christmas cake in peace. The males typically will retire to a room with a television and congratulate themselves on yet another well executed Christmas day.
The children will play with any of their Christmas presents that haven’t been broken from the ruckus of the previous day and any pets will come out of their hiding places glad to see ‘normality’ has returned to their world.
History of Boxing Day
Boxing day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day
It originated in the United Kingdom, and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously belonged to the British Empire, including New Zealand and Canada.\ Boxing Day is on 26 December. It is a public holiday.
MODERN DAY -In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa Test Cricket matches are played on Boxing Day.
In Australia, the first day of the Boxing Day Cricket test match is in Melbourne. It is also the start of the famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
DAYS GONE PAST -In Britain, it was a customary for tradesmen to collect their Christmas present which was a “Christmas box” of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for their good service to their employer.
An even older British tradition was that the wealthy would expect their wait staff to be working on Christmas day and then they would be ‘rewarded’ with a box full of leftovers, gifts and Christmas bonuses.
Summer Santa Table Runner
Merry Christmas everyone and here’s looking to a bright and happy 2017
And of course the Boxing Day sales for those who are not shopped out from Christmas 🎄
Thank you for sharing your traditions. It is so interesting to see how the world celebrates Christmas!
Love this wrap up of Boxing Day, so true. My morning was cleaning, the dog was happy to have his bed back in prime position in the lounge. didn’t see much of the test as I had to go to work in the afternoon. Now a few days off and time to catch up with some sewing. Starting to have withdrawal from my machines. happy New Year to all at Sweet Pea and keep the great designs coming.