Hi Glenda hope you feel better, from our house we can see the Pennines and they're covered in snow but we haven't ventured that far because we're changing the car on 30th Dec and we don't want to bend it in the snow at this late date. 8>]]) Jim Sharpe Manchester UK ----- Original Message ----- From: Glenda R. Wilson <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 4:06 AM Subject: Re: [NTH-ENG] White Christmas > Hi Jim, > > Snow ? How much did you receive ? > > Regards, > > Glenda > > >Yeah, we sure have got snow on the Pennines. > > > >Jim Sharpe Manchester UK > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: Brian B <[email protected]> > >To: <[email protected]> > >Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 8:55 AM > >Subject: [NTH-ENG] White Christmas > > > > > >> WE GOT SNOW. MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN! > >> > >> Brian B > >> Lancashire, UK. > >> > >> [email protected] > >> http://www.gortonian.com > > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > Don't forget you can also post your surnames or any other messages you may want to share in our on line forum message board, > http://amazingforums.com/forum/NORTH/forum.html > > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 12/22/00

Paris, maybe you sent this from a different address to the one subscribed? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paris, Louise, Kids, and gra" <[email protected]> To: "Northern Listers" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 9:32 AM Subject: {not a subscriber} Thanks for the Card! - from Paris, Louise, Kids, and gra : Hello! Paris, Louise, Kids, and gra has just sent you a greeting card from Bluemountain.com. : : You can pick up your personal message here: : : http://www3.bluemountain.com/cards/boxc223578m5/wifrs6stjyj7dn.html : : Your card will be available for the next 90 days : : This service is 100% FREE! :) Have a good day and have fun! : : ______________________________________________________________________ __ : Accessing your card indicates agreement with Blue Mountain's Website Rules: : http://www.bluemountain.com/home/WebsiteRules.html : : Send FREE Blue Mountain cards to friends and family (and attach gifts too!) : http://www.bluemountain.com : :

I find it hard to understand why LineOne or BT let all connections through on the second try when they cut off at the first attempt. Could it be that they are making money out of forcing subscribers into making TWO phone calls? Brian B Lancashire, UK. [email protected] http://www.gortonian.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free - checked by AVG anti-virus system . Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/2000

Well done Marged, Anne here, I cannot recall the number of times while Holidaying in the US at Christmas, with family and friends, trying to explain the origins of Boxing Day. Some Aussies, do know of course, thanks to a staid old Geordie grandmother, although I have been known to tout the other reasons as I found it hard to explain to some Americans just why people would want to give money to the 'lower classes'. Sorry if this offends any of my US friends on and off the list. Anne, Melbourne Marged wrote: > > Well, it's more or less what we said, isn't it! > > BOXING DAY > > Origins: Few Americans have any inkling that there even is such a thing as > Boxing Day, let alone what the reason might be for a holiday so named. However, > before one concludes we're about to rag on Americentric attitudes towards other > cultures, we should quickly point out that even though Boxing Day is celebrated > in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada, not all that many in those > countries have much of a notion as to why they get the 26 of December off. > Boxing Day might well be a statutory holiday in some of those lands, but it's > not a well understood one. > Despite the lively images suggested by the name, it has nothing to do with > pugilistic expositions between tanked-up family members who have dearly been > looking forward to taking a round out of each other for the past year. Likewise, > it does not gain its name from the overpowering need to rid the house of an > excess of wrappings and mountains of now useless cardboard boxes the day after > St. Nick arrived to turn a perfectly charming and orderly home into a maelstrom > of discarded tissue paper. > > The name also has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to the stores they > came from, hence its common association with hauling about boxes on the day > after Christmas. > > The holiday's roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as > St. Stephen's Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a > long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. > Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences > to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after. > > And that's about as much as anyone can definitively say about its origin because > once you step beyond that point, it's straight into the quagmire of debated > claims and dueling folklorists. Which, by the way, is what we're about to muddy > our boots with. > > Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and it > has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is still dispute as > to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being > recognized. > > At various times, the following "origins" have been loudly asserted as the > correct one: > > a.. Centuries ago, ordinary members of the merchant class gave boxes of food > and fruit to tradespeople and servants the day after Christmas in an ancient > form of Yuletide tip. These gifts were an expression of gratitude to those who > worked for them, in much the same way that one now tips the paperboy an extra > $20 at Christmastime or slips the building's superintendent a bottle of fine > whisky. Those long-ago gifts were done up in boxes, hence the day coming to be > known as "Boxing Day." > > b.. Christmas celebrations in the old days entailed bringing everyone together > from all over a large estate, thus creating one of the rare instances when > everyone could be found in one place at one time. This gathering of his extended > family, so to speak, presented the lord of the manor with a ready-made > opportunity to easily hand out that year's stipend of necessities. Thus, the day > after Christmas, after all the partying was over and it was almost time to go > back to far-flung homesteads, serfs were presented with their annual allotment > of practical goods. Who got what was determined by the status of the worker and > his relative family size, with spun cloth, leather goods, durable food supplies, > tools, and whatnot being handed out. Under this explanation, there was nothing > voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obligated to supply > these goods. The items were chucked into boxes, one box for each family, to make > carrying away the results of this annual restocking easier; thus, the day came > to be known as "Boxing Day." > > c.. Many years ago, on the day after Christmas, servants in Britain carried > boxes to their masters when they arrived for the day's work. It was a tradition > that on this day all employers would put coins in the boxes, as a special > end-of-the-year gift. In a closely-related version of this explanation, > apprentices and servants would on that day get to smash open small earthenware > boxes left for them by their masters. These boxes would house small sums of > money specifically left for them. > This dual-versioned theory melds the two previous ones together into a new > form; namely, the employer who was obligated to hand out something on Boxing > Day, but this time to recipients who were not working the land for him and thus > were not dependent on him for all they wore and ate. The "box" thus becomes > something beyond ordinary compensation (in a way goods to landed serfs was not), > yet it's also not a gift in that there's nothing voluntary about it. Under this > theory, the boxes are an early form of Christmas bonus, something employees see > as their entitlement. > > d.. Boxes in churches for seasonal donations to the needy were opened on > Christmas Day, and the contents distributed by the clergy the following day. The > contents of this alms box originated with the ordinary folks in the parish who > were thus under no direct obligation to provide anything at all and were > certainly not tied to the recipients by a employer/employee relationship. In > this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that one gigantic lockbox the > donations were left in. > Whichever theory one chooses to back, the one thread common to all is the theme > of one-way provision to those not inhabiting the same social level. As mentioned > previously, equals exchanged gifts on Christmas Day or before, but lessers (be > they tradespeople, employees, servants, serfs, or the generic "poor") received > their "boxes" on the day after. It is to be noted that the social superiors did > not receive anything back from those they played Lord Bountiful to: a gift in > return would have been seen as a presumptuous act of laying claim to equality, > the very thing Boxing Day was an entrenched bastion against. Boxing Day was, > after all, about preserving class lines. > > Sightings: Good King Wenceslas' gifts of bread, wine, and firewood to a poor > man whom he observed struggling through the snow took place "on the Feast of > Stephen." > > Last updated: 7 November 2000 > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00 > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > [email protected] > A mailing list for those whose ancestors moved between County Durham and > Yorkshire, discussion of the history and migration of the region as well as for people looking for ancestors in either County.

Which camera did you get Brian ? - Ive been looking at them for over a year . saw this cybershot one the other day. Mike in saudi

----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean White" <[email protected]> To: "Brian B" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 10:03 AM Subject: Re: [NTH-ENG] BACK > > Hurrah, I hear you all shout > > Of course we did, Brian. My ears are still ringing! :-))) > > How is the new pressie coming? Is it working yet? When are you and Marged > going to regale us with pictures? > > Jean in Nova Scotia > > > . > >

A discussion of boundaries on the Cheshire list Jean in Nova Scotia > > Throughout history there have been boundary changes to countries, > > counties and other administrative areas, you cannot say they do not > > exist because you don't like them. > > > There is some very interesting reading on the Association of British > Counties' web-site at: > > http://www.abcounties.co.uk > > In short, this demonstrates that places like Hyde and Tintwistle are > still part of the 'Ancient County' of Cheshire, as set out by the > Local Government Act of 1888. This is because subsequent boundary > changes (including those in 1974) only affected the parallel > 'Administrative County' created under the same Act. This was > explicitly confirmed by a government statemant in 1974: > > "The new county boundaries are solely for the purpose of defining > areas of ... local government. They are administrative areas, and > will not alter the traditional boundaries of Counties, nor is it > intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change." > > Like most family history societies, the FHSC follows the traditional > boundaries of the 'ancient' counties, as do most major archives. > > Hope this helps, > > Brett Langston > The Family History Society of Cheshire > http://www.fhsc.org.uk/ > > > ==== CHESHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cheshire GENUKI page: > http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/chs/ > >

Put this away for next year. Jean in Nova Scotia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter C Foden" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> A bit late but I only just got this, thought it might raise a smile as we are having snow, fog etc. AUSSIE JINGLE BELLS Dashing through the bush In a rusty Holden ute, Kicking up the dust Esky in the boot Kelpie by my side Singing Christmas songs It's summer time and I am in My singlet, shorts & thongs. CHORUS Oh, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle all the way. Christmas in Australia On a scorching summer's day. Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells. Christmas time is beaut. Oh what fun it is to ride In a rusty Holden ute. Engine's getting hot Dodge the kangaroos. Swaggie climbs aboard, He is welcome too. All the family's there, Sitting by the pool. Christmas day, the Aussie way By the barbecue ! CHORUS Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze, The kids and uncle Bill Are swimming in their clothes. The time comes round to go. We take a family snap, Then pack the car and all shoot through Before the washing up ! CHORUS Peter Foden Preston, Lancashire [email protected] www.pfnw38616.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk ==== CHESHIRE Mailing List ==== Cheshire County Record Office: http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/recoff/home.htm

WE GOT SNOW. MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN! Brian B Lancashire, UK. [email protected] http://www.gortonian.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free - checked by AVG anti-virus system . Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/2000

Hurrah, I hear you all shout. It looks as though LineOne staff closed up and went away without leaving behind anyone for support. Things seem to be back to normal now. Brian B Lancashire, UK. [email protected] http://www.gortonian.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free - checked by AVG anti-virus system . Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/2000

Because of the threat of the "December 25th" virus which, as it's name suggests, waits until Dec 25 to activiate one never knows if it is lying dormant, or so I have been told. So, just in case, I change my date to the 26th every 24th December and change it back to the correct date after. Sorry if it confused you but I don't like that date to appear on my PC. Now I bought myself a pressy in the sales yesterday at PC World, a shop I detest but they were half price for one day only. A digital camera, no less. All I have to do now is work out how to get the software to install and we're away. Brian B Lancashire, UK. [email protected] http://www.gortonian.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kostas & Angela Nicolaou" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 12:56 PM Subject: [NTH-ENG] Re: Brian's Date > Merry christmas Brian and all ! > > How is it the date of your posting is Wednesday 27th December Bri ? > > Best wishes > angela > Cyprus > > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > Don't forget you can also post your surnames or any other messages you may want to share in our on line forum message board, > http://amazingforums.com/forum/NORTH/forum.html > > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free - checked by AVG anti-virus system . Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/2000

I would like to wish all on the listS a very MERRY XMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR. Brian B Lancashire, UK. [email protected] http://www.gortonian.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free - checked by AVG anti-virus system . Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/2000

Hi All! Just got this warning, thought I'd send it on to you all. Hope you didn't receive any of these to this point. Becky In a message dated 12/26/00 4:25:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: bostocks <[email protected]> > To: <mailto:Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mindspring.com> > Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2000 3:31 PM > Subject: Fw: Xmas Virus Warning... > > > > Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2000 3:00 PM > > Subject: Xmas Virus Warning... > > > > > > > > >> > > >> THREE SERIOUS WARNING !!!!!! READ AND > > > FORWARD > > > >> > > >>> > > > >> > > >>> > > > >> > > >>>WARNING No. 1 > > > >> > > >>>If you receive any CELCOM Screen Saver, > > > please do not > > > install > > > >>it!!!!!! > > > >> > > >>>This screen saver is very cool. It shows a > > > NOKIA hand phone, > > > with > > > >>= > > > >> > time > > > >> > > >>>messages. After it is activated, the PC > > > cannot boot up at > > > all. It > > > >>goes > > > >> > > >very > > > >> > > >>>slowly. It destroys your hard disk. The > > > Filename is > > > CELLSAVER.EXE > > > >> > > >>> > > > >> > > >>>WARNING No. 2 > > > >> > > >>>Beware! if someone named SandMan asks you > > > to check out his > > > page. > > > >>DO > > > >> > NOT! > > > >> > > >>>It > > > >> > > >>>is at www.geocities <http://www.geocities> > > > . This page hacks > > > into > > > >>your > > > >> > > >>>C:/drive. DO NOT GO THERE...FORWARD THIS > > > MAIL TO EVERYONE > > > YOU > > > >>KNOW. > > > >> > > >>>WARNING No. 3 > > > >> > > >>>If you get an E-mail titled "Win A Holiday" > > > DO NOT open it. > > > >>Delete it > > > >> > > >>>immediately. Microsoft just announced it > > > yesterday. It is a > > > >>malicious > > > >> > > >>>virus > > > >> > > >>>that WILL ERASE YOUR HARD DRIVE. At this > > > time there is no > > > remedy. > > > >> > Forward > > > >> > > >>>this to everyone IMMEDIATELY!! PLEASE PASS > > > THIS ALONG TO ALL > > > YOUR > > > >> > FRIENDS > > > >> > > >>>AND PEOPLE IN YOUR MAILBOXES. AOL HAS SAID > > > THIS IS A VERY > > > >>DANGEROUS > > > >> > VIRUS > > > > > > Becky (Hall) Cole Researching: Brewer, Brewster, Clark(e), Hall, Kile, Launder, Legg, Moon, Pickup, Wonsey, Wyckoff, Cole, Sheffer, Piette Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG Anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 12/21/00

Marge, I just keep saying to myself, we are here to help one another, hopefully, with a few laffs on the way, we have had a nice quiet xmas, hope you are happy with yours, Danny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marged" <[email protected]> To: "Danny" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 8:49 PM Subject: Re: [NTH-ENG] HELP ME! > Hi Danny > > thanks for writing - it was "Grody the Dyslexic One" and he has admitted he made > a mistake. I have written to him off line (before I saw his second e-mail). > > It gave me a terrible fright because I thought I couldn't trust the AVG. I was > afraid to write to anyone for a short while - that's why I wrote to Northern, > because Rootsweb won't let ANY attachment in, infected or not. > > I must say, it was reading Albert's wise words about trying to get on with one > another in the New Year that made me bite my tongue! > > Marj > > > > | Marge, > | I saw a mail from someone on the scousers list telling someone else(sorry to > | be so cryptic) that they had said your name by mistake so you just need an > | apology, cant now remember who as I have deleted it. > | Danny > | > > Boxing Day - 18.50pm GMT > > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00 >

Thank you, David, for the good wishes and may you also have a wonderful New Year ! Regards, Glenda >Merry Christmas and a healthy,prosperous and succesful New Year to all >contributors >David Spark (Leeds, UK)

Hi Jim, Snow ? How much did you receive ? Regards, Glenda >Yeah, we sure have got snow on the Pennines. > >Jim Sharpe Manchester UK >----- Original Message ----- >From: Brian B <[email protected]> >To: <[email protected]> >Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 8:55 AM >Subject: [NTH-ENG] White Christmas > > >> WE GOT SNOW. MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN! >> >> Brian B >> Lancashire, UK. >> >> [email protected] >> http://www.gortonian.com

Yeah, we sure have got snow on the Pennines. Jim Sharpe Manchester UK ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian B <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 8:55 AM Subject: [NTH-ENG] White Christmas > WE GOT SNOW. MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN! > > Brian B > Lancashire, UK. > > [email protected] > http://www.gortonian.com > > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free - checked by AVG anti-virus system . > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/2000 > > > > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > Add a link to your website here, > http://pub23.bravenet.com/freelink/show.php?usernum=1926973379&cpv=1 > > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 12/22/00

Marge, I saw a mail from someone on the scousers list telling someone else(sorry to be so cryptic) that they had said your name by mistake so you just need an apology, cant now remember who as I have deleted it. Danny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bryan Douglas-Matthews" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 7:11 PM Subject: Re: [NTH-ENG] HELP ME! > Clear here Marged, Go to it girl and tell him it's not from you, or that he > needs AVG. > From Bryan, > The Wild Celt, > Dum Spiro - Spero. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Marged <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 6:53 PM > Subject: [NTH-ENG] HELP ME! > > > > Hi Everyone > > > > Boxing Day - 18.50pm GMT > > > > I have just arrived home from my daughter's and switched on. We had a > lovely > > time, and hope you all did too. > > The star of Christmas to us this year was Lucy, who sparkled the whole > time we > > were there. > > > > Here's where I need the help. > > > > I have received a message from one man on another list (published to the > whole > > list) stating that he has received the W95 virus from me with my e-mail. > I am > > writing to Northern because I am fairly confident, having checked via AVG, > and > > sending myself several e-mails, that I do not have a virus, and have not > had > > one! > > > > I also feel confident that Rootsweb will not let my mail in if it is > infected. > > > > At the moment I am very worried, but when I have finished being worried, I > am > > going to be very angry! > > > > Hope no-one has cause to get angry with me! > > > > MARGED > > > > > > --- > > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > > Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00 > > > > > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > > Visit the lists Pulse Page here, > > http://212.19.69.91/north/ > > > > > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00 > > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > Add a link to your website here, > http://pub23.bravenet.com/freelink/show.php?usernum=1926973379&cpv=1 >

| | Hi Marge, | I have had about three viruses recently. The first came from a very trusted | site and it was an attachment that I opened because I knew this person (a | relative). As soon as the attachment opened a 'warning' came from AVG | telling me that it was infected and then showed me how to get rid of it. | The next couple of viruses also came as attachments but because I was a bit | suspicious of them ie, no subject, I did not open them, after reading the | mail I did a full virus check and lo and behold AVG told me of the virus. | So to make absolutely sure now, I download my e mail early morning and | before I read I put a full virus check on and go and make a cup of tea. | then after about 10 minutes or so I check and I know for sure that my mail | is squeeky clean. Then I do the same after 6 pm. If I do check the mail | during the day I usually see how important it is before reading it. | Just as a point of interest I also got the virus from tavan and my AVG | detected that, as I had first of all deleted it withoud reading it, as some | one had already warned us about it. But even though it was in the trash bin | the AVG detected it. | | I am pretty sure all will be OK with AVG. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00

And I thought it was to do with kippers From Bryan, The Wild Celt, Dum Spiro - Spero. ----- Original Message ----- From: Marged <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 7:27 PM Subject: [NTH-ENG] BOXING DAY > Well, it's more or less what we said, isn't it! > > BOXING DAY > > > Origins: Few Americans have any inkling that there even is such a thing as > Boxing Day, let alone what the reason might be for a holiday so named. However, > before one concludes we're about to rag on Americentric attitudes towards other > cultures, we should quickly point out that even though Boxing Day is celebrated > in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada, not all that many in those > countries have much of a notion as to why they get the 26 of December off. > Boxing Day might well be a statutory holiday in some of those lands, but it's > not a well understood one. > Despite the lively images suggested by the name, it has nothing to do with > pugilistic expositions between tanked-up family members who have dearly been > looking forward to taking a round out of each other for the past year. Likewise, > it does not gain its name from the overpowering need to rid the house of an > excess of wrappings and mountains of now useless cardboard boxes the day after > St. Nick arrived to turn a perfectly charming and orderly home into a maelstrom > of discarded tissue paper. > > The name also has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to the stores they > came from, hence its common association with hauling about boxes on the day > after Christmas. > > The holiday's roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as > St. Stephen's Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a > long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. > Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences > to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after. > > And that's about as much as anyone can definitively say about its origin because > once you step beyond that point, it's straight into the quagmire of debated > claims and dueling folklorists. Which, by the way, is what we're about to muddy > our boots with. > > Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and it > has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is still dispute as > to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being > recognized. > > At various times, the following "origins" have been loudly asserted as the > correct one: > > > a.. Centuries ago, ordinary members of the merchant class gave boxes of food > and fruit to tradespeople and servants the day after Christmas in an ancient > form of Yuletide tip. These gifts were an expression of gratitude to those who > worked for them, in much the same way that one now tips the paperboy an extra > $20 at Christmastime or slips the building's superintendent a bottle of fine > whisky. Those long-ago gifts were done up in boxes, hence the day coming to be > known as "Boxing Day." > > b.. Christmas celebrations in the old days entailed bringing everyone together > from all over a large estate, thus creating one of the rare instances when > everyone could be found in one place at one time. This gathering of his extended > family, so to speak, presented the lord of the manor with a ready-made > opportunity to easily hand out that year's stipend of necessities. Thus, the day > after Christmas, after all the partying was over and it was almost time to go > back to far-flung homesteads, serfs were presented with their annual allotment > of practical goods. Who got what was determined by the status of the worker and > his relative family size, with spun cloth, leather goods, durable food supplies, > tools, and whatnot being handed out. Under this explanation, there was nothing > voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obligated to supply > these goods. The items were chucked into boxes, one box for each family, to make > carrying away the results of this annual restocking easier; thus, the day came > to be known as "Boxing Day." > > c.. Many years ago, on the day after Christmas, servants in Britain carried > boxes to their masters when they arrived for the day's work. It was a tradition > that on this day all employers would put coins in the boxes, as a special > end-of-the-year gift. In a closely-related version of this explanation, > apprentices and servants would on that day get to smash open small earthenware > boxes left for them by their masters. These boxes would house small sums of > money specifically left for them. > This dual-versioned theory melds the two previous ones together into a new > form; namely, the employer who was obligated to hand out something on Boxing > Day, but this time to recipients who were not working the land for him and thus > were not dependent on him for all they wore and ate. The "box" thus becomes > something beyond ordinary compensation (in a way goods to landed serfs was not), > yet it's also not a gift in that there's nothing voluntary about it. Under this > theory, the boxes are an early form of Christmas bonus, something employees see > as their entitlement. > > > d.. Boxes in churches for seasonal donations to the needy were opened on > Christmas Day, and the contents distributed by the clergy the following day. The > contents of this alms box originated with the ordinary folks in the parish who > were thus under no direct obligation to provide anything at all and were > certainly not tied to the recipients by a employer/employee relationship. In > this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that one gigantic lockbox the > donations were left in. > Whichever theory one chooses to back, the one thread common to all is the theme > of one-way provision to those not inhabiting the same social level. As mentioned > previously, equals exchanged gifts on Christmas Day or before, but lessers (be > they tradespeople, employees, servants, serfs, or the generic "poor") received > their "boxes" on the day after. It is to be noted that the social superiors did > not receive anything back from those they played Lord Bountiful to: a gift in > return would have been seen as a presumptuous act of laying claim to equality, > the very thing Boxing Day was an entrenched bastion against. Boxing Day was, > after all, about preserving class lines. > > > > Sightings: Good King Wenceslas' gifts of bread, wine, and firewood to a poor > man whom he observed struggling through the snow took place "on the Feast of > Stephen." > > Last updated: 7 November 2000 > > > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00 > > > ==== NORTHERN-ENGLAND Mailing List ==== > [email protected] > A mailing list for those whose ancestors moved between County Durham and > Yorkshire, discussion of the history and migration of the region as well as for people looking for ancestors in either County. > > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 22/12/00