Tuesday; December 26

I didn’t grow up in Europe, so a lot of what I think I know about the continent comes from television. I remember an episode of M*A*S*H* that made the case that Boxing Day (December 26) was a day on which supervisors and workers exchanged roles. I recently did a quick fact check and I didn’t find that as a standard in today’s society. What I found was that it is more a part of the extended holiday vacation (that includes super special sales). Another thing that I did find was that in years past workers received Christmas “boxes” from customers or employers for their good work throughout the year. So much for learning my history from a sitcom!

While we don’t live in Europe, the idea of spending the day after Christmas giving something special to others who aren’t family sounds kind of neat. Maybe we could start a new tradition – helping out others. It sounds kind of fun to give the clerk at grocery store a small gift just for being at work on that day. What about giving a 50% tip to the waitress at our favorite restaurant or handing the person who makes our double mocha latte a gift card for their own specialty drink? Do you think your trash collectors could use a box of handwarmers?

Most of us do a good job of gift-giving leading up to Christmas. Maybe it would be a good idea to stretch out the season one more day and include those who don’t usually get gifts from us. It will probably make them happy – and it just might bring us a little extra joy as well!

Think About It!

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