All the gifts are unwrapped, thanks have been texted or spoken (but not yet written on formal Thank You cards, which in THIS family is expected and done with good regularity. I’ll get on that in the next few days!) The turkey leftovers are safe in the frig, waiting. I ate six Christmas cookies for breakfast. Ymmm.
Today is Boxing Day. A quick trip to Google will tell you that in England, Boxing Day is a sort of holiday when people give gifts to vendors and service workers that have rendered assistance to a person through the year. (Think the dry cleaner and mail man, pool boy or nanny.) That’s all well and good, but since I’m not British or living in Canada, boxing day for me is the day after Christmas when I box away the Christmas decorations and take down the tree. I know, why so soon? Well, that tradition is the result of being a teacher and having two weeks off for Christmas Break – and wanting the house clean and back to normal early enough in the course of the vacation that I can lay and read or relax or do some sewing without any big task hanging over me. So, now I’m not going back to work in a week, but the tradition stands.
Today is the day. After Karl has another cup or two of coffee and I finish blogging, we will get the boxes down and pack away our Christmas treasures. It is a special task. I always get sentimental, examining each trinket and thinking about where each came from and who it is associated with. I have a ceramic snowman that Caitlyn gave me – a first grade student that I treasured when she was six and still hear from now, who now has a baby of her own. I have an ornament that my mom bought to give me as a gift the year she died. A posthumous gift that can still bring tears. Over there is the light activated wreath that drives Karl crazy, and here are the ornaments made by my children as they grew up. In a little while I will wrap each one carefully and return it to the box. I will count the blessings they are and that they represent. Sometime in the process I will consider next Christmas. Will we be healthy? Happy? Still here?
I love the ritual of Christmas decorations primarily because of this exercise. Count my blessings, dwell for a moment on the past, trust in what God holds for us in the coming days. Whatever your traditions for this week between Christmas and New Year’s are, I wish you peace and love, and a sharp awareness of God’s grace in your life!
One Response to Boxing Day