December 26, 2020. Madison, Mississippi. Boxing Day.

When the boys were young we spent Christmas with Dave and Irene at their home, first in Dundas and then Ancaster. On Boxing Day, my sister Carol rented a skating rink for several hours. Family and friends were invited. Of course, every one were good skaters. David and Andrew learned to skate at those events, when they were very young. My brother in law would hold the boys between his legs to hold them up and propel them forward. Now at the rink in Liverpool in Nova Scotia they have frames to allow new skaters to hold on as they move around the rink but in Ontario all those years ago, the strong skaters helped the learners. And the boys caught on. Soon they played with the Wheaton Hockey Club. But it all started on those Boxing Day skating parties, organized by my sister Carol. I was taught that Boxing Day is the day when you boxed up your old toys, which were replaced with Christmas gifts, and you gave the boxed up toys to the poor. It was an English custom. It is a holiday in Canada still. Typically, people devote Christmas day to families. Boxing Day you spend with friends. One difference between a skating party in Ontario and a skating party in Maryland was the speed of the skaters. The Ontario skaters were experts and moved quickly. When we had our skating parties for my birthday at Wheaton ice rink, I always noted the difference...but only to myself. Boxing Day is a good holiday, especially when you can go to a skating party. I remember them fondly.