TV Forum New Year Greetings 2008 thread

The day after Christmas Day. Dur.

Or, if you want to go by Mr Cooper it's the day when everybody boxes each other or something

I believe Christmas presents used to be opened on 26 Dec, hence the name... somewhere along the line people decided to open them on Christmas instead-- leaving Boxing Day for people to get trampled in the sales instead.

No. That's an urban myth.

I believe it celebrates the Middle Ages practice of 'boxing' (IE giving small gifts in boxes to) the poor. This was done in commemoration of St. Stephen, the first Christian protomartyr.

I though when i was younger, that it mean the day we put all the boxes outside for the binmen. as there would be alot of boxes in gifts

I used to think there was always boxing on TV on Boxing Day and that's why it was called that!

Aaaw right, thanks for that. Fascinating stuff

The modern "Boxing Day" is due to the Victorians and the Edwardians who would give their servants the day after Christmas off in order for them to receive their Christmas "boxes" from their employers and family. It is also part of the reasopn why boxing Day dinner is traditionally a simple affair due to the upper classes having to fend for themselves on this day due to house-servants celebrating their Christmas. The actual tradition of boxes on 26th December began in the ancient times of Yuletide when boxes of food were given to neighbours and friends in order to be prepared for the long winter following the winter solstice. The date of the 26th December was put aside as Boxing Day (in order for the customs to be preserved) simply to make way for the more modern Christmas Day when the current calendar was introduced sometime in the reign of Elizabeth 1st. Since then, with the exception of the abolition of Christmas during the Cromwell rule, Boxing Day has one way or another been observed as the Day after Christmas. However, with Christmas virtually unobserved until the middle of the 19th Century, Christmas was finding refreshed and enjoyable places in the homes of the UK thanks largely to Prince Albert and Charles Dickens. That is when Boxing Day traditions came into force of servants having their boxes on that day so that they were available to work on Christmas Day itself. Hope this helps.

WOW!

Look at that! All of our names up in lights on the TVForum front page!

Thanks for that, Asa!

Incidentally, I'm now changing the title of this topic to "New Year Greetings" for those who wish to leave them whether they have or haven't done alread.

Happy new year when it comes all.

And bloody hell - well done on the credit sequence on the front page. I'm a bit disappointed though, as I thought it was going to split into four boxes and tell me what's next on BBC3...

Happy New Year to you lot.

And Asa - if it's not too late - that BBC EPG idea would be quite funny.

All we need to do now is put the credit music to Doctor Who over it and enjoy minutes and minutes of announcer-free scrolling...

A Happy 2008 to everybody- on a personal level I won't be sad to see the back of this year, but trust the New Year will be better!