Today is the Feast of Saint Stephen and I swear to those who know me I am not making that up.
Stephen was the first deacon of the early church, not the patron saint of returned gifts as some of the lapsed might think. St. Stephen was stoned to death.
I swear to the people who know me that I am not making that up either.
The day after Christmas, a holiday in many countries like Great Britain and Norway, is also known as Boxing Day. There are a couple of possible origins for the name of the holiday, but the prominent one is that servants in jolly old England worked on Christmas day and were given the following day off to spend with families. Most were sent home with boxes of gifts for appreciation of a year's happy servitude. Unless you served the royal Walton families, of course.
The other origin is to the boxes of alms for the poor delivered on St. Stephens Day. Whichever practice is the point of origin for the term Boxing Day is not really important, because both follow the same general theme. A day the few who had something shared a few trinkets with the majority who didn't. That theme is the opposite of the Dream, for those of you who remember that.
Gifts are exchanged on Boxing Day in many countries, not on Christmas Day like here. I have a feeling we'll be celebrating Boxing Day right here in the good ole US of A before long, too.
Why St. Ste...I mean SJ...you may ask? The answer's as obvious as your December credit card bill. Because your servitude will soon be required on Christmas Day just as it is for many on Thanksgiving Day. It's been the goal of the guys most Kentuckians vote for every November since the modern day saint Raygun convinced us unions and the government are the enemy. Thanks to the supremely unsaintly court their goal is all but achieved.
The good news is our version of Boxing Day will include some great natural promotions from KFC. That 8 piece box will put your whole working family in the holiday spirit at only $2.99!
In honor of the inevitable made for TV tradition to be, I'd like to suggest a few presents for those who would prefer their holidays remain unshared with the rest of us. Apologies to Santa Claus and Pope Francis who I'm sure hope Senator McTurtle and the Dark Koch doesn't steal Christmas from the little people.
On Boxing Day I hope for all those who don't want all kids educated, or elderly fed, or veterans rewarded for their service, or healthcare for everyone, or living wages to everyone who works, or equal rights to those who aren't you, or regulations against corporate over-reach, or fair elections, or the right to make choices for yourself, or a society that works for everyone not just the priviledged class, or...well you get the gist.
For all these people, and organizations since corporations are people now, I gift to you something that every human is better off having. It's hard to get in a box, but it does come with free gift wrapping.
Some call it a soul. It's the one thing I'm sure none of them can buy.