Boxing day?

TCG,

This is more of a UK/Commonwealth question. But WTF is Boxing Day?

K

Boxing day eh?

I forgot that Americans don't celebrate boxing day and consider it to be a normal working day.

However watching Undercover boss (USA) and Back to the floor, where executives go and work at the lowest level and are generally virtually whipped. This comes as no surprise.

Some say it is from boxes of money whereby peasants would toss a coin or two into and open at the end of the year as a nice gift to themselves. As a side note UK workers are WORSE off than peasants under the feudal system. Tax freedom day in the UK is May 10Th. For your peasant 500 years ago tax freedom day was in March! And people have the gall to call the NHS free. Anyway I'm getting off topic.

• Some common suggestions which crop up every year are:
• Or that it is for the boxing of presents.
• Or for punching people out for their indiscretions the previous night while drunk.
• Or all of us Limeys are uncivilised gits who go out and watch a bit of bare knuckle boxing for the fun of it. No that last bit was made up. I actually get to watch bare knuckle boxing regularly when the pub closes at the end of the street. Though it is less boxing more like this.

(British people will be able to verifiy the validity of this video!)

• Or that the charity boxes of churches being opened.
• Or landlords giving out gifts to their peasants.

However over time TCG has figured it all out, much like Chinese dramas which rely on two tropes jealousy or revenge. Boxing day is incredibly simple.

Essentially boxing day is the traditional time of year when tons of TV shows, radio talk shows and news paper articles as well as online news articles and back to back news channels desperate to fill up column inches in the dead tree press or TV airtime will turn to an old trope. Since this time of year is incredibly quiet and generally has very few newsworthy things going on. I mean the news today. Georgia (Tbilisi) is not getting NATO membership... oooh how incredibly interesting.

Afghanistan has a serious drug problem, no shit Sherlock..

So what do they do?

They will ask what the bugger is Boxing day about? At which they will go through a variety of theories which they have little historical empirical evidence for in an effort to waste air time. The local newspaper (the equivalent of a shopper) usually fills space with TV listings. From 7am to about 10am there was nothing but boxing day theory programmes.

The average British and common wealth except for a certain sect who had the gall to beat us in a fight some 227 years ago, generally does not question this in great depth. Firstly as many are nursing killer hangovers from the night before, Or bigger as they do not want to rock the boat get the day cancelled and have to go into work. Instead they can have an extra day (sometimes two) to get drunk off their asses and get paid for it too due to holiday pay laws. But since for the first time EVER TCG is working in a job whereby he doesn't have to go into work between Christmas and New years, this is working out nicely. Normally as I get to work a neat little sideline being a chef here and there. But this has its hazards like that git who sneezed in my face while rat faced. Cleaning up the goo out of my eye and having to pick it off my face, that's PICK not wipe it off my face spelt trouble. It made this scene from the classic movie Dune look mild.



In modern Britain boxing day is:

For uber consumerist types to go out and shop to try pick up a (fake) bargain.

Also for unionised public sector workers say tube drivers to go on strike. Thus blackmail the government to pay them even more even though they already have 100% safe & cushy jobs. £40000 for 34 hours a week + free travel + 43 days leave + statutory holidays for a job which you can only get if you know the secret hand shake (no seriously). These guys make Teamsters* look like amateurs. Thus pissing everybody else in the same city off, it has virtually become tradition to strike on such days.

*Note TCG only garners information of what teamsters are like from American Media. Since American Media Hollywood especially can be deeply and grossly incorrect. For example gun myths and therefore this may well be grossly inaccurate. And TBH TCG does not want his face caved in either in case they are a real gang organisation.