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*wants a pink macbook subcompact*

Okay, first off, how many people in this thread know what Boxing Day is?

Second off, does it matter? No, because they don't seem to usually do a Boxing Day sale. 😉 At least the EhMac folks say so.
 
*wants a pink macbook subcompact*

Okay, first off, how many people in this thread know what Boxing Day is?

*wants a black/white macbook subcompact* (it has to match my decor and iMac you know)

*raises hand* oh, oh, oh, pick me, pick me! i know what Boxing Day is. 😛
 
I'm embrassed to admit it but, even though I live fifteen miles from the border, visit the US at least a dozen times a year, follow US politics extremely closely, have at least a partial US education, etc - I'd never realized that there weren't huge Boxing Day sales in the States as there are in Canada.

I only realized it now, when I went to take a look at Wikipedia
 
I'm embrassed to admit it but, even though I live fifteen miles from the border, visit the US at least a dozen times a year, follow US politics extremely closely, have at least a partial US education, etc - I'd never realized that there weren't huge Boxing Day sales in the States as there are in Canada.

I only realized it now, when I went to take a look at Wikipedia

All boxing day is in America (US) is a mark on the calendar with "Canada" next to it in parenthesis.
 
I thought boxing day was when the family all got together to watch the five Rocky movies.
 
Yeah, I was surprised a few years ago when I was talking to an American friend about Boxing Day, and all the craziness of the sales, the crowds, the line-ups, etc. She was smiling and nodding, but after a while it became apparent that she had no idea what I, the weird Canadian, was talking about 🙂

But then, she started talking about Black Friday. Turnabout is fair play, I guess.

As one of their Boxing Day deals, Future Shop has the 2gb silver nano for $40 off. I thought I'd be smart and buy online (the online sale started at 8pm on the 24th, go figure), and not line up in the cold and snow (yes, finally, Ottawa has snow!) but all I got was "Server too busy" errors while I tried to refresh the page for an hour. Bah.

(Funnily enough, stores are starting to make a mockery of Boxing Day sales... first, it was illegal to be open on Boxing Day.. then it became legal, then it was extended to Boxing Week, and this year a number of stores have "Boxing Week" sales that started well before Christmas did!)
 
Ok, I'll bite, what is this "Boxing Day" that you refer to?
Is it hosted by Mike Tyson by any chance? 😕

It's a British and Canadian designation. December 26, the day after Christmas, is Boxing Day. I don't know the exact history behind the naming though I imagine it has something to do with people boxing up their Christmas decorations, etc.

It has become a huge shopping phenomenon, where stores offer door-crashers and special deals, opening as early as 6am or open to midnight. People have been known to camp outside stores like Best Buy, Future Shop, etc. to ensure getting a good deal on, say, an iPod or XBOX. In short, it's like the American Black Friday.
 
from wikipedia about "Boxing Day";

There are disparate theories as to the origins of the term. The more common stories include:

-It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas 'box' to those who have worked for them throughout the year. This is still done in Britain for postmen and paper-boys - though now the 'box' is usually given before Christmas, not after.

-In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which made it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on 26 December, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obliged to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day.

-In England many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.

-In churches, it was traditional to open the church's donation box on Christmas Day, and the money in the donation box was to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that lockbox in which the donations were left.

-Boxing Day was the day when the wren, the king of birds,[3] was captured and put in a box and introduced to each household in the village when he would be asked for a successful year and a good harvest. See Frazer's Golden Bough.

-Because the staff had to work on such an important day as Christmas Day by serving the master of the house and their family, they were given the following day off. Since being kept away from their own families to work on a traditional religious holiday and not being able to celebrate Christmas Dinner, the customary benefit was to "box" up the leftover food from Christmas Day and send it away with the servants and their families. Hence the "boxing" of food became "Boxing Day".
 
She was smiling and nodding, but after a while it became apparent that she had no idea what I, the weird Canadian, was talking about 🙂

The funny thing is that we do sort of have after-Christmas sales. We just never use the term Boxing Day.

And P.S. we made a pact as a country to just start doing that to you whether or not we understand what you're talking about. To us, you're all weird Canadians! 😱 😉 😀
 
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