Boxing Day 2024

Boxing Day, a day to recover from yesterday's excess, or indeed to contribute much more to that weight problem.  The day begins slowly, dreich weather greets the dog walkers, dull clouds span the horizon dampening enthusiasm for the Boxing Day walk.  However, already one or two well wrapped joggers pass by full of an enthusiasm I do not copy.  

They say Boxing Day was the day boxing fights occurred but while such events may have taken place, often illegal prize fights, it appears the idea may have developed over a great many centuries.  This being the Feast Day of St Stephen in some types of church, boxes were placed at the door where money collected was used for gifts to those in need.  Later, a gift box on that day was given to servants, tradesmen and employees, or others in need, and servants were given the day off, usually.   Today, for many it is merely a shopping trip, though with all the goods collected over the previous 24 hours you might wonder why?  Shops will be open, staff forced to work, money collected abundantly, yet folks will still grumble.  Those with no money will of course not participate in such dealings.

The day continues with Twitter revealing masses of pictures showing families dressing matching pyjamas.  Now where on earth did such a trend begin?  And indeed why?  A family with young kids may do such a thing, but placing photographs across social media does indicate an outlook I do not share.  Twitter also offers many people telling us cheerfully if their sick relatives, or indeed how grannie died during the night!  Now this is relevant to those who know you, it is not relevant to the entire world.  I suspect with many users who have fled Twitter and joined BlueSky the algorithm offers anything to fill the empty spaces.  This is why I receive info on Pakistan politics, Brazilian murders, and things in Chinese or Malayan that make no sense to me.  The tarts are much more obvious also.

Christmas tv, which I avoided, was full of Black and White films from before the war, action films from 30 years ago and kids stuff, which all the grannies watched.  

Today, in between the spam from online shops made use off in the last month, we see Twitter filled with pictures of royalty walking to church.  People, often in wheelchairs, line their path offering gifts to the multi millionaires who care not a jot about them, certainly not about the cost of heating and the lack of a winter fuel payment.  What is it about England that they need a monarch to bow down to? 

The Princess fills the pages of the media while propaganda informs us of their popularity, but in Scotland that has waned much in recent years and dim Willie will not become a welcome addition to Scotland.

All in I find Christmas is lost in sentimental slush, present buying, supermarket visiting and money laundering to pay for it all.  It's a relief to be in a church and find a stable environment (stable, geddit?).