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Home , Boxing Day

RADIO SIGNALS WC4DC DEDICATED TO THE ART AND SCIENCE OF AMATEUR RADIO http://www.wc4dc.org Monitoring: 146.57, 145.01 (24/7) Repeaters: 147.375 + PL 146.2 White Bluff 442.225 + PL 123.0 White Bluff 145.330 – PL 114.8 Cumberland Furnace Issue 84 FINAL ISSUE 2017 Dickson, TN Editor NA4C Dickson County ARC Monthly Meetings 2ND Monday each month except May and December Volunteer Examination Schedule Test session dates for 2018 January 18th, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. March 15th, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. May 17th, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. July 19th, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. September 20st, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. October 18, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

The location for the test sessions is Colton’s Steak House & Grill, 2431 High- way 46 South in their private meeting room.

WHAT IS ? Boxing Day is a celebrated the day after Day. It originated in the , and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the . Boxing Day is on 26 December, although the attached bank holi- day or may take place either on that day or two days later. In the liturgical calendar of , Boxing Day is the second day of , and also St. Stephen's Day. In some European countries, notably Ger- many, , Belgium, the and the Nordic countries, 26 December is cele- brated as a Second Christmas Day. There are competing theories for the origins of the term, none of which is definitive. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the earliest attestations from Britain in the 1830s, defin- ing it as "the first week-day after Christmas-day, observed as a holiday on which post- men, errand-boys, and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas-box". The term "Christmas-box" dates back to the 17th century, and among other things meant:A present or gratuity given at Christmas: in Great Britain, usually confined to gra- tuities given to those who are supposed to have a vague claim upon the donor for services rendered to him as one of the general public by whom they are employed and paid, or as a customer of their legal employer; the undefined theory being that as they have done of- fices for this person, for which he has not directly paid them, some direct acknowledge- ment is becoming at Christmas. In Britain, it was a custom for tradespeople to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or pre- sents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year. This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663. This custom is linked to an older British tradition: since they would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their fami- lies. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bo- nuses, and sometimes leftover food. In (a former British colony) as recently as the 1980s, milkmen and garbage collectors, who normally had little if any interaction with those they served, were accus- tomed to knock on their doors asking for a "Christmas box", being a small cash donation, in the week or so before and after Christmas. The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the ex- act origin is unknown. It is believed to be in reference to the Alms Box placed in areas of worship to collect donations to the poor. Also, it may come from a custom in the late Ro- man/early Christian era, wherein metal boxes placed outside churches were used to col- lect special offerings tied to the Feast of , which in the Western Church falls on the same day as Boxing Day. Boxing Day is a secular holiday that is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day. 26 December is also St. Stephen's Day, a religious holiday. In the UK, Boxing Day is a (in , and Northern since 1871). When 26 December falls on a Saturday, the Boxing Day public holiday is moved to the substitute day, which is the following Monday. If 26 December falls on a Sunday, the substitute public holiday is the following Tuesday. As Boxing Day was traditionally

the first week day (historically Monday–Saturday) after Christmas, it cannot technically be on a Sunday as that is considered to be the day of worship. However, 26 December is nowadays generally referred to as Boxing Day, even when it falls on the Sunday. In , Boxing Day has been specified as an additional bank holiday since 1974, by Royal Proclamation under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. In Ireland – when the island as a whole was part of the United Kingdom – the Bank Holi- days Act 1871 established the feast day of St. Stephen as a non-movable public holiday on 26 December. Following partition in 1920, reverted to the British name, Boxing Day. In , Boxing Day is a federal public holiday. The Australian state of South Aus- tralia instead observes a public holiday known as Proclamation Day on the first weekday after Christmas Day or the Christmas Day holiday.] In , Boxing Day is a statutory holiday; penalty rates and lieu time are pro- vided to employees who work on Boxing Day. In , Boxing Day is a federal statutory holiday. Government offices, banks and post offices/delivery are closed. In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holi- day[17] that is always celebrated on 26 December. In Canadian provinces where Boxing Day was a statutory holiday, and it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week. In the United States, 26 December is not observed as "Boxing Day", per se, by the Fed- eral Government; however, it may be converted to an extension of "Christmas Day Ob- served" when Christmas falls on a Sunday, thus affecting Federal offices and services, as well as banking, regular postal delivery and trading markets. The 26th is given as a holi- day to some state employees, mainly in southern states: Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, but it is not known as Boxing Day. On 5 December 1996, Massa- chusetts Gov. William F. Weld declared 26 December as Boxing Day in Massachusetts, in response to the efforts of a local coalition of British citizens to "transport the English tradition to the United States", but not as an employee holiday.] In , 26 December is a public holiday for working people or students. When it falls on Saturday or Sunday, there is always a holiday on Monday. Shopping

Boxing Day crowds shopping at the Toronto Eaton Centre in Canada, 2007 In the UK Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday, much like (the day after ) in the United States. Boxing Day sales are common in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is a time

when shops hold sales, often with dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Box- ing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue. In the UK in 2009 it was estimated that up to 12 million shoppers appeared at the sales (a rise of almost 20% compared to 2008, although this was also affected by the fact that the VAT was about to revert to 17.5% from 1 January, following the temporary reduction to 15%). Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. It is not uncommon for long queues to form early in the morning of 26 December, hours before the opening of shops holding the big sales, especially at big-box consumer electronics retailers. Many stores have a limited quantity of big draw or deeply discounted items. Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay at home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. The local media often cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began queuing up, and showing video of shoppers queuing and later leaving with their purchased items. Many retailers have implemented practices aimed at managing large numbers of shoppers. They may limit entrances, restrict the number of patrons in a store at a time, provide tickets to people at the head of the queue to guarantee them a hot ticket item or canvass queued-up shoppers to inform them of inventory limitations.] In recent years, retailers have expanded deals to "Boxing Week". While Boxing Day is 26 December, many retailers will run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year's Eve. Notably, in the recession of late 2008, a record number of retailers were holding early promotions due to a weak economy.[33] Canada's Boxing Day has often been compared with the American (the Saturday before Christ- mas) and Black Friday. From 2009 onward Black Friday deals become more prominent among Canadian retailers to discourage shoppers from crossing the border to the USA when the Canadian and USA dollars was close to parity, and this has lessened the appeal of Boxing Day in Canada somewhat as it was overtaken by Black Friday in terms of sales in 2013. Boxing Day is not and has never been a shopping holiday in the USA. In some areas of Canada, particularly in and parts of Northern , most retailers are prohibited from opening on Boxing Day, either by provincial law or by municipal bylaw, or instead by informal agreement among major retailers to provide a day of relaxation following Christmas Day. In these areas, sales otherwise scheduled for 26 December are moved to the 27th. The city council of , Ontario, which was the largest city in Canada to maintain this restriction as of the early 2010s, formally repealed its store hours bylaw on 9 December 2014. In 2009, many retailers with both online and High Street stores launched their online sales on and their High Street sales on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day Test at the Cricket Ground, 2006

Boxing Day Meet of the Blencathra Foxhounds in Keswick, 1962 In the United Kingdom, it is traditional for both top-tier football leagues in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the lower ones, as well as the rugby leagues, to hold a full programme of football and matches on Boxing Day. Originally, matches on Boxing Day were played against local rivals to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day. Prior to the for- mation of leagues, a number of rugby fixtures took place on Boxing Day each year, nota- bly Llanelli v London Welsh and Leicester v The Barbarians. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, matches are played on Boxing Day. In Australia, the first day of the in Melbourne and the start of the Syd- ney to Yacht Race are on Boxing Day. In horse racing, there is the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sur- rey, England. It is the second most prestigious chase in Britain, after the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In addition to the prestigious race at Kempton, in Britain it is usually the day with the highest number of racing meetings of the year, with eight in 2016, in addition to three more in Ireland. Boxing Day is one of the main days in the hunting calendar for hunts in the UK and US, with most hunts (both mounted foxhound or harrier packs and foot packs of beagles or bassets) holding meets, often in town or village centres. Several contests are associated with the day. The IIHF World U20 Champion- ship typically begins on 26 December, while the also begins on 26 Decem- ber in Davos, Switzerland; the Spengler Cup competition includes HC Davos, Team Can- ada, and other top European Hockey teams. The traditionally had close to a full slate of games (10 were played in 2011), following the league-wide days off given for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, the 2013 collective bar- gaining agreement (which followed a lock-out) extended the league mandate of Christ- mas Eve and Christmas Day off to include Boxing Day, except when it falls on a Satur- day, in which case the league can choose to make 23 December a league-wide off day in- stead for that year. In some African Commonwealth nations, particularly Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, prize fighting contests are held on Boxing Day. This prac- tice has also been followed for decades in and Italy. A notable tradition in Sweden is Annandagsbandy, which formerly marked the start of the season and always draws large crowds. Games traditionally begin at 1:15 pm.

Christmas Santa list

It is a little hard to come up with a list for the jolly Ole Man, in the Red Suit. Now the question is Why? I have an issue going to any radio store, computer store, hamfest or web site looking for anything I need, wont or with to have an come away with nothing. It is time to be creative in my Christmas wish list. Here goes, better band conditions, more improvement in my CW skills and more participation in amateur related events by more hams!

All we want for Christmas is a safe Christmas and New Years. And prayers for Marie’s brother! 73 Don & Marie KV4PU KV4PV

FINAL ISSUE This is the final issue of Radio Signals. After more than eight years I have finally run out of ideas. Most requests for input, articles, projects, observations or just anything have largely fell on deaf ears with little or no response. It has been a good and fun run but all good things must end. If anyone would like to assume editorship and continue the newsletter get in touch with me and I will provide copies of all past issues and my email list. A Merry Christmas and final 73 to everyone. DE NA4C