The Second Day of Christmas
26/12/23 00:42
Today is the second day of Christmas in the Christian tradition where Christmas is more than a day, but rather a season lasting 12 days from December 25 to January 6, the traditional celebration of Epiphany. In the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, and Jamaica, as well as our nearby neighbors to the north, Canada, the Second Day of Christas is a public holiday and a paid day off for workers known as Boxing Day. There are many stories about the origins of Boxing Day. One of the traditions of the day is for rich families to prepare boxes filled with gifts and presents for poor people. In countries that observe Boxing Day it is a poplar day for making charitable gifts and volunteering in agencies that provide services to those who are hungry and lack adequate housing.
One of the stories about the origins of Boxing Day is that in earlier times, the richest people employed servants who had to work on Christmas Day to serve guests and attend to the festivities and celebrations of their employers. The day after Christmas, however, was reserved as a holiday for the servants, who were given boxes that contained their Christmas bonuses, often given in the form of gifts rather than cash.
We, however, live south of the border, so Boxing Day is not an official holiday where we live. I do hope, however, that Sanitary Services Company, the corporation that provides garbage collection and recycling services, will give the employees who had to work yesterday the day off today. I was surprised and a bit put off to discover that the company picked up garbage in our neighborhood and other neighborhoods on Christmas Day and will do so on New Years Day as well. Since those days were Sundays last year, we didn’t notice that they do not give their employees a break for Christmas. But yesterday the big blue trucks were cruising the streets of our neighborhood picking up garbage. Fortunately for us, we do not subscribe to weekly garbage pickup. Because we compost food waste and deliver it to the farm and also subscribe to two different kinds of recycling services, we only need pickup every other week. We will have to put out our garbage and the recycling that is picked up by Sanitary Services on New Years Day, however.
I may be unfair in my judgment, but it seems sad to me that some of the employees of the company do not get Christmas as a holiday simply because the company is unable to plan ahead enough to provide a day off from collection. I do hope that those employees receive some other day as a bonus paid holiday. I understand that there is probably extra compensation for employees to work on the holiday and some employees may prefer to work on Christmas in exchange for the bonus pay. I also understand that there are some jobs that demand that workers provide services on Christmas Day. I’m grateful that first responders, hospital employees, and those who work in care centers all work on holidays so that 24-7 care can be maintained. My sister, a city bus driver in Portland, Oregon, worked a regular shift yesterday so that bus services could be maintained for those who rely on the buses for transportation. She isn’t complaining. The extra holiday pay comes in handy to help with added costs this time of the year and she will get other holidays as vacation while employees who got Christmas off will be working. Garbage collection, however, seems to me to be somewhat less of an essential service. Having it come a day late means that employees would have to work extra hours in the week in order to provide five days’ service in four days, but it could be accomplished with a bit of advance planning.
That, however, is just my opinion. The company has reasons for its scheduling and has worked it out with their employees, who are represented by a union. I know also that they must have left their trucks full overnight and have to dump them early this morning because the local waste transfer station was closed yesterday and they had nowhere to dump the trucks yesterday.
In our part of the world we think of Christmas and Boxing Day as falling in the middle of winter. There is a gale blowing outside as I write, with small craft advisories and coastal flooding warnings issued. However, south of the equator, it is summer. Boxing Day is the traditional day for the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart sailing race in Australia. Each year a wide variety of different boats sail racing with others in their class divisions. There are divisions for ultra sleek, ultra modern sailing vessels with professional crews, and divisions for cruising boats with small volunteer crews. It is a big deal in Australia’s largest city and the city at the southern tip of the large island south of the mainland. Having been privileged to have visited both cities traveling by airline, I can appreciate the distance between the two and the challenges presented by an ocean passage despite it being summer weather with warmer water temperatures and milder weather. Storms do, however, affect the race even in the summer and racers take on considerable risks to participate. Fortunately they also are required to meet stringent safety precautions.
Through the miracle of time zones, the day comes earlier in Australia which lies on the other side of the International Date line, they are always 19 hours ahead of us, so the race has already started when I rise on the second day of Christmas. Photos of the start of the race are already posted online. Skies were mostly clear with a partial overcast and winds were strong for the race start. The photos show some crews in weather gear as they hang over the sides of the boats heeled over as they take full advantage of the winds and jockey for position.
Looking at the pictures is a holiday tradition for me. Remembering our visit to the land where the seasons are reversed is a joy. Whatever your traditions for the second day of Christmas may be, I pray that you will be able to extend your observances of Christmas beyond a single day and discover meaning and joy in the process.
One of the stories about the origins of Boxing Day is that in earlier times, the richest people employed servants who had to work on Christmas Day to serve guests and attend to the festivities and celebrations of their employers. The day after Christmas, however, was reserved as a holiday for the servants, who were given boxes that contained their Christmas bonuses, often given in the form of gifts rather than cash.
We, however, live south of the border, so Boxing Day is not an official holiday where we live. I do hope, however, that Sanitary Services Company, the corporation that provides garbage collection and recycling services, will give the employees who had to work yesterday the day off today. I was surprised and a bit put off to discover that the company picked up garbage in our neighborhood and other neighborhoods on Christmas Day and will do so on New Years Day as well. Since those days were Sundays last year, we didn’t notice that they do not give their employees a break for Christmas. But yesterday the big blue trucks were cruising the streets of our neighborhood picking up garbage. Fortunately for us, we do not subscribe to weekly garbage pickup. Because we compost food waste and deliver it to the farm and also subscribe to two different kinds of recycling services, we only need pickup every other week. We will have to put out our garbage and the recycling that is picked up by Sanitary Services on New Years Day, however.
I may be unfair in my judgment, but it seems sad to me that some of the employees of the company do not get Christmas as a holiday simply because the company is unable to plan ahead enough to provide a day off from collection. I do hope that those employees receive some other day as a bonus paid holiday. I understand that there is probably extra compensation for employees to work on the holiday and some employees may prefer to work on Christmas in exchange for the bonus pay. I also understand that there are some jobs that demand that workers provide services on Christmas Day. I’m grateful that first responders, hospital employees, and those who work in care centers all work on holidays so that 24-7 care can be maintained. My sister, a city bus driver in Portland, Oregon, worked a regular shift yesterday so that bus services could be maintained for those who rely on the buses for transportation. She isn’t complaining. The extra holiday pay comes in handy to help with added costs this time of the year and she will get other holidays as vacation while employees who got Christmas off will be working. Garbage collection, however, seems to me to be somewhat less of an essential service. Having it come a day late means that employees would have to work extra hours in the week in order to provide five days’ service in four days, but it could be accomplished with a bit of advance planning.
That, however, is just my opinion. The company has reasons for its scheduling and has worked it out with their employees, who are represented by a union. I know also that they must have left their trucks full overnight and have to dump them early this morning because the local waste transfer station was closed yesterday and they had nowhere to dump the trucks yesterday.
In our part of the world we think of Christmas and Boxing Day as falling in the middle of winter. There is a gale blowing outside as I write, with small craft advisories and coastal flooding warnings issued. However, south of the equator, it is summer. Boxing Day is the traditional day for the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart sailing race in Australia. Each year a wide variety of different boats sail racing with others in their class divisions. There are divisions for ultra sleek, ultra modern sailing vessels with professional crews, and divisions for cruising boats with small volunteer crews. It is a big deal in Australia’s largest city and the city at the southern tip of the large island south of the mainland. Having been privileged to have visited both cities traveling by airline, I can appreciate the distance between the two and the challenges presented by an ocean passage despite it being summer weather with warmer water temperatures and milder weather. Storms do, however, affect the race even in the summer and racers take on considerable risks to participate. Fortunately they also are required to meet stringent safety precautions.
Through the miracle of time zones, the day comes earlier in Australia which lies on the other side of the International Date line, they are always 19 hours ahead of us, so the race has already started when I rise on the second day of Christmas. Photos of the start of the race are already posted online. Skies were mostly clear with a partial overcast and winds were strong for the race start. The photos show some crews in weather gear as they hang over the sides of the boats heeled over as they take full advantage of the winds and jockey for position.
Looking at the pictures is a holiday tradition for me. Remembering our visit to the land where the seasons are reversed is a joy. Whatever your traditions for the second day of Christmas may be, I pray that you will be able to extend your observances of Christmas beyond a single day and discover meaning and joy in the process.
