Sitting at the breakfast table I polled about 8 people, "Do you know what boxing day is?"
Aunt #1: "No, that is a good question. I don't really know what it is?"
Heavy-Set Uncle: "Me either, but you see it on the calendar all the time."
Aunt #3: "Well it is the day after Christmas"
Aunt #1: "I thought it was Canadian?"
Cousin #5476: "Who cares?"
Aunt #3: "Well I wonder what it has to do with boxes."
I asked the driver, "What is boxing day?"
Driver: "What?"
Me: "Boxing day"
Driver: "What is that?"
I asked the people at church. "Do any of you know what today is?"
Random Church lady 1: "Yes. Today is boxing day."
Me: "Oh really, what is that? I mean what does it celebrate?"
Church lady with the head wrap: "Well I bet it has something to do with boxes. Like maybe that is when you are supposed to open your gifts...because gifts are in boxes..."
Church lady listening to our conversation: "No it is not. I don't know what it is but why would you open gifts the day after Christmas."
Random Church lady 1: "(very loud and dramatic clearing of throat. insert attitude).
In total, I asked about 30 people what Boxing day was and no one knew. They were all just glad to be off of work. So, of course, I had to find out what this day was. After researching on line for a while, I have found that Boxing day is only acknowledged by former British Colonies. And what is it?
To protect ships
During the Age of Exploration, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, A Christmas Box was used as a good luck device. It was a small container placed on each ship while it was still in port. It was put there by a priest, and those crewmen who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was then sealed up and kept on board for the entire voyage. If the ship came home safely, the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks for the success of the voyage. The Priest would keep the box sealed until Christmas when he would open it to share the contents with the poor.
To help the poor
An 'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshipers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became know as Boxing Day.
A present for the workers
Many poorly paid workers were required to work on Christmas Day and took the following day off to visit their families. As they prepared to leave, their employers would present them with Christmas boxes.
During the late 18th century, Lords and Ladies of the manor would "box up" their leftover food, or sometimes gifts and distribute them the day after Christmas to tenants who lived and worked on their lands.
And the tradition still continues today ......
The tradition of giving money to workers still continues today. It is customary for householders to give small gifts or monetary tips to regular visiting trades people (the milkman, dustman, coal man, paper boy etc.) and, in some work places, for employers to give a Christmas bonus to employees.
Schools across the country gather together gifts to be put in Christmas Boxes that are sent to poorer countries.
Okay, so I started my Boxing day being slightly irritated that no one knew what it was. Why did that piss me off? I don't know. Maybe it was that the heat had finally melted my brain. Mombasa is HOT. Too hot. It was hot day and night. I was constantly sweating. I was even sweating above my lip like Whitney Houston. I never sweat there. I was hot and miserable. Plus, I started to feel sick. My stomach was upset and I think it was because I spent all day and night cooking from the inside out, our outside in (depends on how you look at it). As a matter of fact I was just generally irritated. One of Angela's cousins is in a relationship with a White woman. She came to Kenya with her son and daughter to represent their family at the wedding. SHE GETS ON MY FREAKING NERVES. Not because she is White, but because she is annoying....and I absolutely HATE (and yes, that is a strong word that I am very intentionally using) the way that Africans respond to White people. They treat them like Gods. They wave to them, and sing to them when they walk down the street. They give them better service. They, literally, run behind them. Whenever we have the White lady in the car, no one questions us; gates just open and security guards just step out of the way. I don't know why the African people are so kind to the White man who STOLE PEOPLE AND RESOURCES FROM YOUR ENTIRE CONTINENT FOR YEARS! AND ARE A BIG REASON FOR ALL YOUR PROBLEMS TODAY? WTF? Do know I am screaming inside as I write this. I mean Damn? Really? I really, really, really, really despise that. It makes me pewk. Yuck. We also went to Catholic church today for the baby to be baptized. Why people baptize babies? I have no idea? Why would a sin-less person need to be "saved"? Would God seriously send un-saved babies/children to hell? Well if that is the case, that is not the God I would serve...So I have realized that although I am trying to be open to understanding religion and the weird things that people do in hopes of getting closer to God, I completely don't get Catholics and I officially dislike Catholic events. THEY ARE SO FREAKING LONG! Why do we have to stand up for you to say this one sentence? Oh, so we sit back down now. Then, WHY ARE WE STANDING UP AGAIN OH PRIEST!? WE JUST SAT DOWN? It is too hot for this non-sense!!! Oh, now we kneel? For what? Can't we pray sitting down?! And I don't even understand what you are saying because you are speaking Swahili and that makes this long, hot, confusing, weird, service even more taxing. WHEN WILL THIS END? Moving on, I am also irritated because I have spent the past few days doing the family-thing with Angela's family. As nice and wonderful as they are, and they are genuinely very good people, the family thing, with any family, gets exhausting after a while. Every place we go, we go in a big hot van of at least 10 people. We went to the market to go shopping and there were about 15 of us walking in and out of stores in a huge group. Why don't we just split up and then met at the car so we can be more productive? Or just so we don't look like a gang? Because no one seems to think I know what I am doing because I am American. Being American in Africa makes people treat you like you are fucking retarded (please note again, this is a rant and I am venting right now). "Oh Adrianne, you can't take a matatu, people will steal from you." Hello? People steal everywhere. Do you know who gets robbed? People who don't know how not to be robbed. Duh? There are universal rules to not being robbed. Be aware of your surroundings. Don't stand in one place for a long time. Don't look/act scared. Hold on to your shit. Better yet, don't bring your shit with you. Fuck. I get it. I can take a freaking matatu. Do you know what I rode around in when I was in Ghana? This matatu is a luxury bus. I am taking the matatu. Move out of my way "Adrianne, you know how to make your own eggs? I am so impressed. Wow. Who turned on the stove for you? Oh, you did it?! " Are you kidding me? I AM NOT HELPLESS! I am not stupid! I am just not from Africa. I can make my own food! Why does everything I do impress, amaze or alarm you. "Adrianne, you eat goat? You must be an African." I am not an African because I eat goat?! People eat goat in America! Please stop watching me eat like I am some fucking display. Get out of my mouth so I can chew my goat in peace. Gosh. "Adrianne, are you sure you want to buy that banana?" Yes I am sure I want to buy this banana. It is a freaking banana! I can pick the banana I want to buy. I don't want to eat the green one like you do. I intentionally picked this banana with the brown spots. Not because I don't know what I am doing, but because I DO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING! I picked this one because it is sweeter. Geez! Get off of me!!!! Fuck. You are making me crazy!...but what the hell, you people don't even know what boxing day is...Happy Boxing Day to you and yours from a Black-American girl in Kenya who has clearly gone mad.
great rant...and laughable that know one has a clue why they have a holiday named Boxing day.
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