The Story of "Boxing Day"

Boxing Day, December 26th, is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, Australia (excluding South Australia), Canada, New Zealand and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a mainly Christian population. It is based on the tradition of giving gifts to the less fortunate members of society. Contemporary Boxing Day in many countries is now a "shopping holiday" associated with after-Christmas sales.

This day is historically England's name for St Stephen's Day - St. Stephen was one of the first Christian martyrs, being stoned to death in Jerusalem around A.D. 34-35 - the 26th December, which is a public holiday in most countries in Europe and many countries around the world with predominantly Christian populations. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St Stephen's Day is celebrated on the 27th of December, although in Greece the Greek Boxing Day (Synaxis Theotokou, Σύναξις Θεοτόκου) is also celebrated as a public holiday on the 26th of December and is not related to the English version.

In Ireland the Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St. Stephen's Day as a non-moveable public holiday on December the 26th, although since partition the name "Boxing Day" is used by the authorities in Northern Ireland and it has become a moveable public holiday in line with the rest of the UK. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 established "Boxing Day" as a public holiday in Scotland. In the Australian state of South Australia, December the 26th is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day.

It is usually celebrated on the 26th of December, the day after Christmas Day; however, unlike St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day is not always on the 26th of December, its associated public holiday can be moved to the next weekday if the 26th of December is a Saturday or Sunday. The movement of Boxing Day varies between countries.

Origins
Boxing Day dates back to past centuries when it was the custom for the wealthy to give gifts to employees or to people in a lower social class, most especially to household servants and other service personnel. The name has numerous folk etymologies.

As with Christmas itself, some elements of Boxing Day are also likely related to, and ultimately derived from, the ancient Roman Saturnalia, which also had elements of gift giving and social role reversal.

Date
In the countries that observe this holiday, 26 December is commonly referred to as Boxing Day, no matter what day of the week it occurs. However, in some countries, fixed-date holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday are often observed on the next weekday. Technically, Boxing Day cannot be on a Sunday - that day being the officially recognized day of worship, so traditionally it was the next working day of the week following Christmas Day, (i.e. any day from Monday to Saturday). In recent times this tradition has been either forgotten or ignored, and 26 December is considered by most to be Boxing Day when it falls on a Sunday. 1993 was the last year when 26 December was called Christmas Sunday in the UK; in 1999, the next time the date fell on a Sunday, it was Boxing Day.

If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, then Monday 28 December is declared a public holiday. In the United Kingdom and some other countries this is accomplished by Royal Proclamation. In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday and is always celebrated on 26 December. As with most statutory holidays in Canada if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week.

If Boxing Day falls on a Sunday, then in countries where it is a public holiday the Statutory Holiday is moved to Monday 27 December. In that event, Christmas Day would be on a Saturday, so Tuesday 28 December would be declared a holiday in lieu, that being the next available working day - thus the Boxing Day holiday occurs before the substitute Christmas holiday.

If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, then Boxing Day is on Monday 26 December, and no Royal Proclamation is required. In such a circumstance, a 'substitute bank holiday in lieu of Christmas Day' is declared for Tuesday 27 December; again with the Boxing Day holiday occurring before the substitute Christmas holiday.

Although the same legislation—the Bank Holidays Act 1871—originally established the Bank Holidays throughout the United Kingdom, the holiday after Christmas was defined as Boxing Day in England and Wales, and the feast day of St. Stephen's Day in Ireland.

In Australia and Canada, Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday, and a time where stores have sales, often with dramatic price decreases. For many merchants, it has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue. In recent years, this has been expanded to "Boxing Week". While Boxing Day is actually on 26 December, many retailers who hold Boxing Day Sales will run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year's Eve.

In some areas of Canada, particularly in Atlantic Canada and parts of Northern Ontario, most retailers are prohibited by law from opening on Boxing Day. In these cases, any sales specifically scheduled for December 26 are moved to the 27th.
*Wikipedia

--Wizard's Note: And I thought it was the day that all the empty Christmas Boxes were tossed to the curb!

Happy Yule!

I hear the wind howling
The ice has entered my soul
The cold seems endless
The darkness black as coal.


Yet a spark of something
Shines bright through the night
Could it be the dawning
Of approaching light?


For it’s always coldest
In the hours before dawn
Darkness is its deepest,
Facing fears we’ve drawn


How can loneliness dwell
With loved ones nearby?
Why the tiny doubts
Filling me with their cries?


So I turn my face away
Forget the winter’s chill
Celebrate Sun’s return
As my spirit thrills.

by Elspeth Sapphire

May the Blessings of the ONE be with you at this special time of year. The Wizard is going to confer, converse, and otherwise hob-nob with my brother wizards...

Posting will be irregular for the next while...Keep checking daily .. if there are no new posts that day, check the archives. I bet there is a lot that you haven't read yet.... Thanks again to my loyal readers who are part in parcel in keeping me posting to "The 'Other' Side of the Rainbow" You know who you are!

Take care,

--The Wizard

Yule Log Recipe

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
2 (1oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
confectioner's sugar for dusting

4 (10z) squares semisweet baking chocolate
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coffee flavored liqueur

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan and line with parchment paper. Sift flour with baking powder and salt and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs on high for several minutes until they are very pale and fluffy. Gradually add in the sugar, beating 1 to 2 minutes more or until very thick. Gently, but thoroughly, fold in the flour mixture.

3. Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. In a small bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of water with the 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the baking soda, then gradually stir into the melted chocolate until smooth. Quickly, but thoroughly, fold chocolate mixture into batter.

4. Pour batter into prepared 10x15 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Lightly sift an even layer of confectioners sugar over a cloth napkin or tea towel (do not use Terry Cloth). Flip the cake out of its pan onto the prepared cloth as soon as it comes from the oven. Carefully peel away parchment paper. Lightly dust top of cake with confectioner's sugar, then trim away crispy edges. Starting with one of the short sides of the cake, immediately roll the cake up in the cloth, jellyroll style, and cool thoroughly on a rack.

5. For the filling and frosting: in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the confectioners sugar until smooth, and then blend in the vanilla extract and coffee liqueur. Blend in the melted chocolate. Unroll the cake and spread about 1/3 of the filling evenly over the surface. Roll the cake back up.

6. Arrange cake roll on serving tray, then first generously, swiping with an icing spatula to form the long 'bark line' design. Swipe ends of cake in a circular motion to simulate the tree-rings of a cut log.

Decorate log as desired with holly leaves and berries, mushrooms and snow.

Merry Christmas

from The Wizard of 'OZ'

I will be away for a while. Hope you all have a great Christmas, and I will see you back in a few days or so...)

The Candy Cane Legend

Click above
*Thanks, Sheron & Clarence

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
*by Clement Clarke Moore
or Henry Livingston

Bush Shoe Dodge

Click above to play!

*Thanks, Calvin

Are You Gay?

Court: Straight man can be victim of homophobia

By 365gay Newscenter Staff

(London) Britain’s Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court ruling that had said a man was not entitled to file a homophobic harassment case against his former employer because he is heterosexual.

Stephen English says he was forced to quit his job at an awning manufacturer because the company refused to stop workers from calling him a faggot and other gay slurs.

English filed a complaint with the Employment Appeal Tribunal alleging the harassment began when fellow workers discovered he had been educated at a boarding school and that he lived in largely gay Brighton.

The complaint said that final straw came when the company’s in-house employee magazine said he had attended Brighton’s Gay Pride parade wearing “skin-tight Lycra cycling shorts”.



The Tribunal refused to hear the case because English is not gay and is married.

English appealed to the Court of Appeal.

In a 2-1 landmark ruling the court said that a person can be “harassed” by homophobic remarks even though he is not gay, is not thought to be gay by his fellow workers and he accepts they do not believe him to be gay.

Writing the majority opinion Lord Justice Sedley said it did not matter whether English was gay or not.

“[The] calculated insult to his dignity” and the consequently intolerable working environment were sufficient to bring his case within the regulations.” Sedley wrote.

“The incessant mockery created a degrading and hostile working environment, and it did so on grounds of sexual orientation,” the judge said.

The ruling said that he had a case, and ordered the Tribunal to hear it.

*365Gay.com

Lord of The Sith

As we reach the end of another year, reflect on the past

The Original Computer!!!!

Memory was something you lost with age
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity


A keyboard was a piano
A web was a spider's home
A virus was the flu
A CD was a bank account

A hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived

And if you had a 3 inch floppy....


You just hoped nobody ever found out!!

*Thanks, Daryn

Funnies

*Thanks, Daryn

Virtual Earth Screen Saver

Features


* Supports multiple RSS feeds showing Virtual Earth scenes
* Displays information about the scene from the RSS feed in the top right of the screen
* Supports PageUp/PageDown and arrow keys to allow you to manually cycle through feed images while the screensaver is running
* Supports Enter key to launch the current scene in Live Search Maps
* Supports custom RSS Feeds (from Internet or local disk).

* The default RSS feeds are from Virtual Globetrotting and Birdseye Tourist
* Supports Aerial, Hybrid, Road, and Birdseye permalinks from Live Search Maps in RSS feeds
* Supports automatic image update time in seconds (default is 90 seconds), and feed update time in minutes (default is 120 minutes)
*Supported on Windows with .NET Framework 2.0



Download and Run VirtualEarthScreensaverSetup.msi and go through the setup process

Count Your Blessings

*Thanks, Dad

Weeweechu

It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, "Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu."

Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!" said Rosita.

Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.

"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Rosita.

Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me."

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu."





Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....

"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

*Thanks, Vil

Top 10 Games of 2008

10. Wii Fit (Wii)

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Wii Fit casts aside certain gaming conventions to offer an experience that actually made you think a little about your health. When was the last time you could connect those dots in the gaming realm?

Part of what makes Wii Fit so appealing is that it doesn't dictate the pace — you do


9. Dead Space (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Redwood Shores

If horror becomes a genre of sorts in video games, then Dead Space will be among its true catalysts. This game has all the makings of some of the best in sci-fi mixed in with all the trappings of suspense and horror.


8. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega


Valkyria Chronicles is an eye-opening experience based largely on its gorgeous visuals that resemble animated paintings. Sega wrapped that up with a great story and a really nice music score to present what is one of the best Action RPGs in some time.

7. Fable II (Xbox 360)

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Lionhead Studios

This one was highly anticipated and with good reason. Fable II pits you in many situations that will feed into your inner self. You just might discover how selfish you are, or how big your heart truly is. This isn't to say that art imitates life in real terms, but in an abstract way, there is a correlation.

And a lot of this comes out of one of the simplest aspects of the game — your dog. The way you treat him is very indicative of what kind of hero you will choose to become.


6. Spore (PC)

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Maxis

Spore comes across as a science exhibit that details the evolution of life for a living organism. Creator Will Wright likely intended for the game to have that kind of background feeling, but in reality, the final product is a unique view of how some of us came to be where we are today.


5. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Epic Games

Next to Halo, Gears of War 2 pretty much proves that it is the next flagship franchise of the Xbox 360. Packing in all the elements that made the first one so great, Epic Games managed to up the ante and create a stylized game that is so immensely entertaining from start to finish. And that's not even including all the havoc of online multiplayer.


4. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3 and PC)

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Make no mistake, Fallout 3 is a brilliant video game. It's rare to see something like this produced — a game that tells a compelling story through the decisions that you make when interacting with people.

Fallout 3 is kind of a giant narrative about man's tendencies to survival and self-destruction. Indeed, the eerie emptiness of the Washington, D.C. in this game felt real, displaying the apocalyptic scene with awe-inspiring graphics.


3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar North

Niko Bellic is the tragic figure of this game. He stands out a lot more than the other characters in the GTA games because he actually is a decent guy that can't seem to shake some old habits when things get out of hand. GTA IV is a classic "deal with the devil" game where a man's heart and soul is basically parted with in a transaction for money, power and respect.


2. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Media Molecule

It's nice to see a game blow people away through sheer imagination rather than bombastic explosions and surreal graphics. LittleBigPlanet is a spectacular game for the simple reason that it's almost impossible not to like it. Platformer games are widely known by a large portion of the video game demographic, and LittleBigPlanet takes all that and puts the creativity in your hands.

It's a game that makes you think, like solving a problem through a solution of your own making.

Simply put, if you own a PS3, you would do yourself a big favour getting this game.


1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)



Publisher: Konami
Developer: Kojima Productions

This game is very much a movie in and of itself, where certain scenes play out in front of you in cutscenes, while others are left up to you to perform. It's the beauty of what Hideo Kojima and his staff created here — an interactive movie that never fails to disappoint from start to finish.

It's a visual masterpiece in so many ways, and one that any non-gamer can gaze at and appreciate.

*PCWorld.ca

Important Medical Warning

*Thanks, Gary!

The Priests

Another Winter Solstice

So passes another Winter Solstice
renewing the land
bringing peace
and the promise of another season
bringing rain
water to feed the land
renewing the spirit
washing away our past regrets
and cleansing the spirit
So passes another Winter Solstice
so hold up your drinks
to the never ending sky
and put to rest your pain
lay to rest your fear
So passes another Winter Solstice

~ Gabe Kregler

Disney Trivia

Which popular actor provided the voice of the legendary Captain John Smith in Disney's animated feature "Pocahontas"?

Actor Mel Gibson supplied the voice of Captain John Smith.

Frozen Crabs

A man boarded an airplane in New Orleans, with a box of frozen crabs. A female crew member took the box and promised to put it in the crew's refrigerator, which she did.

The man firmly ranted & raved that he was holding her personally responsible for the crabs staying frozen, and proceeded to threaten about what would happen if she let the crabs thaw out.

Shortly before landing in New York, she announced over the intercom to the entire cabin, 'Would the gentleman who gave me the crabs in New Orleans, please raise his hand and come forward?'

Not one hand went up, nobody moved ... so she took them home and ate them herself.

Men never learn.

*Thanks, Pam