Here we are. Dec. 26. The day after Christmas. It has been celebrated as its own holiday, immortalized in song lyrics and dreaded by trash collectors and the folks at the return counters.
First, the "day after Christmas" holiday.
For Americans, "Boxing Day" is mostly just a notation on our calendars. A quick Google search provides at least three varying potential roots of the holiday, celebrated in places like Canada and the United Kingdom. (Even the vaunted Wikipedia lists "conflicting reports of the origin"!) One suggested origin is that the day after Christmas, servants were given the day off following the days of laboring to produce all that was needed for Christmas celebrations. The household servants were allowed to return home and given boxes of leftover food to enjoy with their families. Another option is that the name was derived from the collection of gratuity boxes by service type employees or the opening of alms boxes, church collections set aside for the poor. Some families extend the Holy days by honoring Christmas through Three Kings Day and keep decorations up and children get gifts in honor of the gifts brought by the Magi.
What I remember about Boxing Day as a holiday was the "M*A*S*H" episode where the lower ranking and higher ranking service members trade duties for the day. If memory serves, Cpl. Klinger took over for Col. Potter and hilarity ensued … until someone heard choppers landing or some such thing.
As far as song lyrics are concerned, I was recently introduced to a Matthew West song that has been around for a few years. West, a Christian singer and song writer, sings, "Here comes the letdown, Christmas is over. Here comes the meltdown. There goes the cheer. But before we have a breakdown, let us remember, the light of the world is still here." His generally upbeat song about the permanence of Jesus Christ's existence references exchanging gifts at the store, taking down decorations and wishing for warmer weather, but keeps returning to the refrain of "the light of the world is still here."
Maryland has quite a few unique holiday traditions to call its own — the lights on 34th Street in the Hamden neighborhood of Baltimore City, serving up
In contrast, Blink 182's song "Boxing Day" is just plain sad. While set to a jaunty tune, their song refers to a post-Christmas break up. "I'm empty like the day after Christmas, swept beneath the wave of your goodbye. You left me on the day after Christmas. There's nothing left to say, and so goodnight." The band has experienced success in three decades, so hopefully that has been a salve to the wound created by the post-Christmas break-up.
Our family left the trash business a few years ago, however, I still remember well what a challenge the days after the Christmas holidays presented. Post-Christmas trash is the heaviest of the year. It is not hard to imagine how quickly the trucks fill up and how weary the throwers get when house after house sets out considerably more trash than usual. Some years this was further complicated by snow. Friends would be wishing for a white Christmas, and I would look Grinchy as I explained why I only liked weekend snow. I have never worked retail during the post-Christmas season, it must be brutal as well.
So, today, on this day after Christmas, if you are able to have the day off work and are leisurely reading the Carroll County Times, enjoy this luxury. If, like me, you are feeling particularly grateful and blessed, quickly make a donation to your favorite charity. Although I am no accountant, and cannot give tax advice, it is generally accepted that there are certain tax advantages to making year-end gifts to charitable organizations.
Let's use the extra time afforded to us by this bonus day-after-Christmas holiday and make this day like the one definition of Boxing Day — sharing with those less fortunate. Opening the alms boxes of our wallets and starting the New Year with a generous spirit. "The light of the world is still here."
Karen Leatherwood writes from Eldersburg. Reach her at leatherwoodkarenm@gmail.com.
