Boxing Day 2015

Boxing Day, December 26th, is a national holiday in many British Commonwealth countries. It's not celebrated very much in the USA although my sister, Lin, celebrates it in fine fashion visiting or hosting friends. The tradition stems from “Christmas boxes” or presents given to servants the day after Christmas (because, of course, they had to work on Christmas Day). Many servants also had the day after Christmas off to spend time with their own families.

Boxing Day allows an extension of the Christmas holiday and some recovery time before the New Year's celebrations. With Christmas on a Friday this year, everyone gets a long, long Christmas weekend. Time to get away on a holiday or spend more time with friends and family. If you're in the UK, perhaps you might go on a fox hunt. Here, sports and after- Christmas-sales shopping seem to be high on the activities list.

It's also the start of the Sydney-Hobart race. A few years ago, we were at Sydney Heads on a friend's boat as the race participants flew past on their way to Hobart. The following year, we were in Hobart to watch the racers arrive. This year, we'll have to be content to see the results on the Internet.

As for us, we'll be busy entertaining more family and friends at Lin's house. The festivities are never-ending. We'll cook some more, eat some more and drink some more and then contemplate our plans for New Year's Eve … and beyond.