A Boxing Day bike ride …

Boxing Day in Chicago was a wonderful high temperature record setter for us residents.

By the way, are you familiar with the Boxing Day reference? I  first encountered it in 1976 when I had just moved to London working for Reuters News Service. I expected to go out and do some shopping on the day after Christmas and was introduced to Boxing Day as celebrated there – a National Holiday. No stores open! Naturally, I couldn’t figure out any reason for the Brits to be wanting to engage in boxing on the day following Christmas. Really seemed like  a bad match.

Turns out that no one really seems to know where the Boxing Day term originated. It is British, however. Seems the churches there would open their alms boxes on the day and distribute money to the poor. It is also thought that the ‘box’ referred to the boxes of gifts that employers gave to their servants on the day after Christmas. As the wealthy required their servants to work on Christmas day, they gave them the following day off to celebrate with their families. Notice that I have not put forward the tried and untrue theory that Boxing Day refers to the getting rid of’ boxes’ that housed Christmas presents. That one is a total non-starter.

We here in Chicago enjoyed a wonderful surprise on December 26, Boxing Day, when the temps broke through the old record high of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, to as high as 65F near the lake.

I got to ride wearing shorts and sandals, AND my dog, Gabi, got in one of her rare winter rides as you can see from the photo above.

I am writing this on December 27 and the weather has normalized somewhat with temps in the mid-30’s F. And, no, Gabi didn’t accompany me on my ride today.

Best wishes to you and yours for the holidays!

Tony