Category: History

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Boxing Day Traditions

This blog was originally published in 2013. I had no idea what or why Boxing Day was celebrated in England. So I thought you might like to know—again. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone!–Stew

Boxing Day Hunt in Cowbridge, Wales. Photo by Michael Gwyther-Jones (2008). PD-Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Boxing Day Hunt in Cowbridge, Wales. Photo by Michael Gwyther-Jones (2008). PD-Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

I recently found out every English Premier League soccer team will be playing on Boxing Day in England. It happens to be the day after Christmas and apparently, this is a tradition in England. It almost seems like every English sport and teams will play that day. I guess it’s kind of like every NFL team playing on Christmas Day.

What Is Boxing Day? 

So Sandy asks me, “Do you know what Boxing Day is and what the tradition is?”

Boxing Day Hunt. Photo by Bob Jones (2009). PD-Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Boxing Day Hunt. Photo by Bob Jones (2009). PD-Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

I naturally say, “Of course I do. It’s not hard to figure out. It’s the day when a big boxing match is held, huge wagers are made, and they all eat chips and dip (well, I suppose our type of chips). Just like our Super Bowl.”

Wrong.

I began to research Boxing Day and found out that it is a secular holiday in England (and other countries but primarily the former British empire). It is a bank holiday and as I correctly surmised, every sport under the sun has matches that day. Read More Boxing Day Traditions

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One of France’s Little Secrets

Crop of The Emperor Napoléon in His Study at the Tuileries. Painting by Jacques-Louis David (1812). National Gallery of Art. PD-100+ Wikimedia Commons.
Crop of The Emperor Napoléon in His Study at the Tuileries. Painting by Jacques-Louis David (1812). National Gallery of Art. PD-100+ Wikimedia Commons.

One of the things that France keeps a very low profile about is the fact that French aristocracy did not disappear with the French Revolution. Yes, it was thinned out by Madame Guillotine but enough of them survived so that more than 220 years later, the nobility population (la noblesse) is about the same as before the Revolution.

Contemporary Aristocracy

You don’t hear much about the contemporary nobility today. Many of the families can trace their origins to the Middle Ages. The de Vogues family dates back to the 12th-century and their forefathers were likely members of the king’s court. However, like most of la noblesse, the de Vogues family tries to not attract attention to their historical or hereditary status. Why?

King Louis-Philippe. Map: Painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (2006). PD- 100+ Wikimedia Commons.
King Louis-Philippe. Map: Painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (2006). PD- 100+ Wikimedia Commons.

France is a republic. In fact it’s on its Fifth Republic. Read More One of France’s Little Secrets