Boxing Day Links.

Why is it called Boxing Day?
"Boxing Day got its name when Queen Victoria was on the throne in the 1800s and has nothing to do with the sport of boxing."

Sovereignty and subversion in King Lear:
"Professor Kiernan Ryan argues that the subversive spirit of King Lear remains as powerful as ever, four centuries after it was first performed."

Malls after midnight on Christmas Eve: 'It’s like an out-of-body experience':
"For almost two decades, Australian stores have hosted all-night shopping events in the lead-up to Christmas. Perhaps that’s why being in a mall at 2am feels surprisingly normal."

Christmas leftovers recipes:
"Use up your Christmas dinner leftovers, including turkey and all the trimmings. From stir-fries to pies, these recipes are packed with festive flavour."

Batman Returns: The Christmas Movie We Deserve:
"In which a savior is born and dies for our sins."

Christmas (Day!) Links #25

Christmas:
"Holiday."

Here's why there used to be so many Christmas Day weddings:
"Why did a lot of people get married on Christmas day in times gone by? The reason is not as romantic or festive as you might imagine."

A Shakespearian Christmas:
"Christmastime in ‘the days of yore’ (in this case, the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras) was quite different to the way that we celebrate it now."

Cardiff chippy staying open on Christmas Day to give free food to homeless people:
"A fish and chip shop in Cardiff is opening its doors on Christmas Day to provide free food for people who are homeless, older or vulnerable."

The strange story of the first and only Doctor Who Christmas special of the 20th century:
"Festive episodes of the series are a recent tradition, and going by their first attempt in 1965 it’s not hard to see why."

15 Japanese Christmas Traditions:
"Christmas is one of the most celebrated occasions around the world. Every country has their own way of celebrating the holiday, and Japan has some truly unique traditions when it comes to KURISUMASU (the Japanese pronunciation of Christmas)."

Christmas (Eve) Links #24

Conversation starters for Christmas Eve, with your phone:
"As the festive season gets into full swing, there are some pressing questions that only Siri can really help you with."

25 Best Christmas Eve Traditions to Make Lasting Memories With Your Family:
"There are tons of things to do while you wait for Santa!"

Every year on Christmas Eve, I face my rapist:
"Every year on Christmas Eve, my school friends from the rural Scottish village where I grew up get together at a local pub."

Commemorating A King's College Christmas Tradition:
"Every Christmas Eve at exactly 3 p.m., the Chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England plays A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols."

10 Forgotten Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials:
"If you're prone to picturing your favorite Christmas characters as stop-motion puppets, you can thank Rankin/Bass."

Why A Christmas Carol Is Required Reading at Starfleet Academy:
"Unsurprisingly, the answer has very little to do with Christmas!"

A Christmas Cavil:
"At Christmas time, non-Chris­tians are omitted from the psychic life of this country, and although this omission may be relatively harmless, it's anti-Jew, anti-Bud­dhist, and anti-Moslem."

Festivus Links.

How to celebrate Festivus in 5 easy steps:
"If you hate tinsel and love "Seinfeld," Festivus is already the perfect holiday for you."

A Life Cycle Approach to Comparing Galvanized Steel with Aluminium for Lighting Poles:
"Purchasers from public organizations increasingly use environmental impacts of products to inform their buying decisions. The EU Directive 2004/18/EC ‘Coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts’ allowed EU Member States to add sustainability criteria for awarding public projects."

Gay teenager shares mum’s ‘super secret’ meatloaf recipe as revenge for her ‘f**king abusive’ homophobia:
"A mother’s “secret” meatloaf recipe has been shared online – after she reportedly rejected her gay child."

Festivus: Readers’ top complaints about 2019 and 'those dang scooters’:
"Let the airing of grievances for 2019 begin. Here’s what annoyed you most."

The Guardian view on Taylor Swift’s fight for her rights: empowering a new generation of artists:
"In 2019, the American singer has helped change the balance of power between creators and the music industry."

Mum says 'miracle' £2.99 cleaner from Aldi removed huge make-up stains from carpet:
"A mum who easily removed spilt mascara stains from the carpet on her stairs with a £2.99 cleaner from Aldi has raved about the product online - but others added a word of caution."

10 Things You Never Knew About Festivus:
"Some fun facts for the rest of us about this not-so-made up holiday."

Christmas Links #23

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy: Santa.
"Why does Father Christmas wear red and white? It's not for the reason you may think. In an updated version of an episode from 2018, Tim Harford tells the story of Christmas and consumerism."

My Painful Quest to Find the Worst Christmas Movie Ever Made:
"From 'Homeless for the Holidays' to 'Christmas in Hollywood' to 'Ho Ho Nooooooo!!! It's Mr. Bill's Christmas Special!'"

Festive spirits restored as Cambs village given beautiful Christmas tree:
""It honestly made me cry when they said they had got one for us. I was so, so happy""

An ICU nurse reveals the one thing we should all remember this Christmas:
"Louise, 27, is an intensive care nurse who lives and works in London. Here, she tells Stylist what it’s like working in the ward at Christmas – and shares the powerful message we should all remember on the day, and beyond."

Slush, a love story: How a Christmas drink in a beef bucket won me over:
"It's a frozen concoction loved by thousands. And, yes, it's best made in an unusual container."

Christmas Links #21

A Little Boy Thought This Muslim Accountant Was Santa And He's Played Along For Four Years:
"A heartwarming Christmas tale."

The challenges of conserving 20th century buildings:
"The work of a conservation architect is always challenging. Securing a building’s future, while staying sensitive to its aesthetic and working within its listed status, is an impressive juggling act."
[Editor's note: This is about the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool and includes an ingenious way they have for dealing with rainfall and leaky stained glass.]

'It's not for 10-year-olds': Guy Pearce on Steven Knight's adaptation of A Christmas Carol:
"Writer Steven Knight and actors Guy Pearce and Stephen Graham explain why their Christmas Carol will strike a chord with a modern audience."

The religious case for Christmas is well known. But there’s a scientific one too:
"Our urge to mark midwinter and celebrate the days growing longer precedes Christianity by thousands of years."

Nope, seeing Cats the musical will not help you understand Cats the movie:
"Three months into my freshman year of theater school, I found myself fake-laughing my way through a raucous parody of Cats—a show I had never actually seen, but one that was apparently being hilariously skewered based on the reactions of everyone around me."

Christmas card delivered to wrong address 5,200 miles away:
"A Christmas card thought to have been posted in south Wales to an address in Warwickshire has been delivered 5,200 miles away - in the United States."

Christmas Links #20

Archived: The Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy HyperCard Expanded Book:
"Phew! That title is quite the mouthful! It would have been longer if I’d included the author’s name (the late, great Douglas Adams, of course) and the publishing company (Voyager) but I figured I’d best truncate it."

Christmas Creamguide 2019: Week One:
"It’s the Christmas Creamguide and it’s the twentieth time we’ve done it! Maybe one day we’ll get good at it, but at least we haven’t put a holiday supplement in the middle of Christmas Day. As in previous years, it’s so big it arrives over two days, with TV, radio and a full film guide. Hope you enjoy it!"

A Merry Tudor Christmas with Lucy Worsley:
"Recreating festivities from Henry VIII's era, Lucy Worsley dresses, eats, drinks, sings and parties like it is 500 years ago - discovering long-lost traditions as well as familiar customs."

This Christmas I Won't Clam Up If My Kids Ask Where Their Grandparents Are:
"Sadness is a human emotion. I should allow my kids to experience it even when it's secondhand."

Cats is a baffling, humourless CGI nightmare—and the people deserve an explanation:
"If society is to move forward from this illogical disaster, we need nothing less than a full and frank inquiry."

Christmas Links #19

The seven most terrifying Christmas traditions around the world:
"Playful Christmas fun, or sinister, skin-crawling horror? You decide."

"The Environment Was Very Toxic": Nudity, a Graphic Photo and the Untold Story of Why Ruth Wilson Left 'The Affair':
"The actress shocked fans of her Showtime drama when she suddenly quit the role that earned her a Golden Globe, then said she wasn't allowed to say why. Now, insiders reveal a complex situation that involved complaints of a hostile work environment, Lena Dunham, and a director and showrunner who sparked a formal investigation."

Not just a Christmas movie: DIE HARD on the big screen:
"It’s been quite a fall season for UW–Madison film culture."

10 Great Christmas-Adjacent Movies That Aren’t Die Hard:
"Whenever we discuss our favorite Christmas movies, there’s always that one guy (and it’s always a guy) who chimes in, “What about Die Hard?” In fact, I’m sure that someone in the comment section of this article will say something like, “Dude, you forgot Die Hard!”"

“WHAT’RE YOU GONNA WEAR?” The Movies with the Most Iconic Going Out Looks, as Envisioned by the Artist Anna Bak-Kvapil:
"Stop it. Campaigning for canceling plans and staying in is—well—getting boring. We propose another ritual. The one where you arrive at your friend’s place and she isn’t ready...not even close."

Christmas Links #18

Christmas With BBC Records And Tapes:
"RESL124 Orville’s Song/I Didn’t – Keith Harris And Orville (December 1982)"

Born again: modernist design icons are given a new lease of life:
"While the hunger for new contemporary design continues, there is still something alluring about revisiting those lesser known chapters of 20th century design to uncover the stories of classic products and their creators."

The great vegan Christmas taste test: mains, desserts and party food:
"From root vegetables en croute to pigless blankets and festive jellies, vegans are spoilt for choice this Christmas. Just steer clear of the fake-meat roasting joints …"
[Editor's Note:  With a few exceptions, vegan food in supermarkets is unremittingly awful especially when it's trying to pretend to be meat.  Tonight I had the Spinach and Squash Lasagne from M&S and it was fine although the cheese was a bit sickly.  Full vegans, you have my sympathies.]

The Best Music Videos of 2019:
"Featuring bodybuilding, pole dancing, Terry Crews, John Early, and more Haim x Paul Thomas Anderson."

A brief history of the BBC Christmas Tapes:
"The BBC Christmas tapes make interesting, infuriating, amusing and depressing viewing… But are they any good?" [via LinkMachineGo]

UK weather: 70mph winds and rain to cause transport nightmare before Christmas:
"The Met Office is forecasting powerful gusts to develop across the South West, alongside heavy showers."

The 9 most commonly misheard Christmas carol lyrics:
"‘Joy to the World’, ‘12 Days of Christmas’ and ‘Deck the Halls’ have been found to be among the most misheard Christmas carols – and we can totally relate."

Christmas Links #17

Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas’ Is Finally No. 1, 25 Years Later:
"Although most pop fans probably assume it reached the milestone years or decades ago, Mariah Carey’s holiday staple “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the No. 1 song in the country by official acclimation for the first time in its 25-year history, topping both the Rolling Stone songs chart and the Billboard Hot 100 this week."

The Terror Queue:
"These moderators help keep Google and YouTube free of violent extremism — and now some of them have PTSD."

Pre-Christmas shopping discounts 'could hit 50%':
"Sales discounts on clothing and products in the lead up to Christmas could be the biggest in almost ten years, according to one consultancy."

My grimly inappropriate boyfriend dumped me in the pub – I gave him his Christmas present anyway:
"I was 17. He was a thrillingly older twentysomething. I was heartbroken and drowned out the pain with Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine."

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Prepares For A Second Season With California Tax Credits:
"This shouldn’t surprise anyone that’s seen the outpouring of interest in the return of Jean-Luc Picard, Deadline is reporting that CBS has secured the California film tax credits for a second season of Star Trek: Picard."

You Might Be Surprised to Find These Christmas Markets Around the World:
"Sorry, Germany. You don’t hold the Rudolph nose on quintessential Christmas markets, as wonderful as yours are."

Christmas Links #16

Essex church hides 1,000 baby Jesus rocks 'to bring joy':
"A Baptist church has hidden 1,000 rocks painted with an image of the baby Jesus to "bring a little bit of joy" to their local community."

Christmas at the National Gallery:
"From putting up our 16ft Leonardo-inspired Christmas trees to celebrating the winter highlights in our collection, see how we're getting ready for Christmas."

5 Easier Ways to Water Your Christmas Tree:
"A decorated Christmas tree adds instant holiday cheer to any room—for a few days, at least."

‘SNL’ Spoofs Hallmark Channel’s Christmas Movies, Addresses Brides Kissing Ad Controversy:
"Two years after Saturday Night Live skewered Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movies in a cut-for-time sketch, NBC’s program this holiday season aired a new parody of Hallmark’s signature franchise."

Families get on board with fast, easy games for Christmas:
"Classics such as Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly make way for pick-up and go options such as Dobble and Bananagrams."

Christmas Links #15

Netflix's Christmas movie universe is the new MCU:
"Move over Avengers."

Longleat Safari Park chipmunks sent hundreds of socks:
"A wildlife park has been inundated after putting out an appeal for "chipmunk worthy socks" to help keep the rodents warm over Christmas."

10 of the UK’s best tiny theatres and cinemas:
"Audiences at these little independent theatres and cinemas can be sure of an intimate experience, especially in a venue on wheels that seats just eight."

James Frain on playing Spock’s dad and wearing the biggest fangs on True Blood:
"Can we go way back to the Walmart-baby movie? Your accent was spectacular in that."

Walmart Pulls Tasteful Sweater Depicting Santa at Bushwick Loft Party:
"A festive holiday sweater depicting a jolly Santa enjoying himself at a friend’s boyfriend’s podcast party in Bushwick has been removed from the Walmart Marketplace website."

Christmas Links #14

Ohio family brings Griswolds' Christmas house to life:
"For the past seven years, Greg Osterland has decorated his Ohio home with 25,000 lights. His goal? A real life version of the Griswolds' creation in the classic movie "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Here’s a Kinda Genius, Kinda Evil Way People Are Gaming Spotify Playlists:
"It’s just the latest trick in a long history of hacking digital music services to promote your own songs."

Anjli Mohindra and Laura Fraser to guest star in Series 12!
"With less than one month to go until the TARDIS lands back on BBC One, television stars Anjli Mohindra and Laura Fraser are set to guest star in upcoming episodes of the new series!"

The 100 Memes That Defined The 2010s:
"From planking to VSCO girls."

Sandra Bullock became a rom-com star with a cozy love story about crushing loneliness:
"Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) spends her days behind a glass window in a Chicago Transit Authority booth and her nights home alone with her cat."

Global Christmas treats come to Seoul: At markets, European countries cook up their tastiest delicacies for the holidays:
"The Christmas spirit was in the air at the Seongbukcheon Fountain Square in central Seoul last weekend as people braved the freezing temperatures to queue for Czech goulash or Ukrainian varenyky."

Christmas Links #13

Jimi Hendrix cleared of blame for UK parakeet release:
"The rumour parakeets arrived in the UK when rock star Jimi Hendrix released a pair in London's Carnaby Street in the swinging 60s has finally been scotched."

Four Ingredient Christmas Cake, 16p:
"Christmas for me is a disparate and disorganised affair – zipping between various peoples houses, delivering a Small Boy to all the relatives that want to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair, like an exasperated sugar-high parcel."

Why can’t more than four people have a conversation at once?
"t’s called the “dinner party problem”: A table of four or fewer people may happily converse as one, but a party of five or more will splinter fairly quickly into separate conversations of two or three four people each. What is it about the number four?"

Alternative Christmas events in London:
"Looking for something different to the festive classics? Here are the most weird and wonderful events happening in London this Christmas."

Berlin’s rubbish collectors say give time not stuff this Christmas:
"Waste management firm suggests greener ways of celebrating festive season."

Why like Emma Watson, we're happy to be single at Christmas:
"From trips to Winter Wonderland to mistletoe kisses, the Christmas season can feel like it's all about relationships."

Where Christmas trees come from:
"Every year, millions of Americans purchase and decorate Christmas trees to ring in the holiday season."

Christmas Links #12

Bernie, Elizabeth, My Dad, and Me — or How To Not Kill Your Family This Christmas:
"My father is voting for Bernie Sanders. I am voting for Elizabeth Warren. He’s a 75 year-old, brilliant man, who pioneered early software for the railroad and never went to college, who was a police chaplain and still isn’t quite retired from being a deeply liberal Catholic Deacon. I’m a 38 year-old filmmaker who has a medical crisis at least once a month. The apple fell far, bounced, and bruised."

7 of the best cult Christmas films:
"When you're sick of watching 'Love Actually' try these under-the-radar picks."

Bob Dylan Reads “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”
“Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”

Women Rule 2019 National Film Registry:
"‘Boys Don’t Cry,’ ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’ ‘Before Stonewall’ Among the Titles."

Officials Warn to Check Christmas Trees for Praying Mantis Eggs:
"Officials in Erie County, Ohio are warning of walnut-sized and shaped masses in trees."

Hundreds of dead birds found in mystery mass death:
"Hundreds of birds found dead on a north Wales road are to be tested to discover how they died."

Police say mystery mass bird death phenomenon may have happened before on the island:
"Reports suggest that this is the second time this has happened in exactly the same spot."

Meat? In dessert? Why I made a Christmas mince pie – with beef:
"A US website went viral this week after it confused mincemeat and ground beef in a recipe – but would the resulting dessert taste as bad as it sounds?"

Christmas Links #11

The Deep Sea:
"Made with ♥ by Neal Agarwal"

Christmas Lights Safety:
"We all love getting into the festive spirit, decorating our homes, putting up lights on our Christmas trees, around bannisters and even hanging them outside to share the Christmas cheer with our neighbours."

My starring role as Santa Claus:
"University taught me many things to prepare me for the life of a journalist."

The 36 Best Christmas Movies of All Time:
"There’s a difference between a Christmas movie and a movie that happens to be set at Christmastime."

Christmas Cat on a Robot Hoover #XmasLife
"Feel the festive cheer with our furry friend, and live your best Christmas life."

Expect family talks about climate change this Christmas? Take tips from Greta Thunberg:
"As bushfires rage and our cities lie shrouded in smoke, climate change is shaping as a likely topic of conversation at the family dinner table this Christmas."

N.J.’s Four Queens whiskey fuels boilo, a Christmas tradition in Pennsylvania’s coal country:
"The closest coal mine is more than 100 miles to the west, across the river and up into the hills of Northeastern Pennsylvania. But each year, just after Thanksgiving, a Central New Jersey distiller sees an enormous sales spike in one of its lesser-known products out in coal country."

Christmas Links #10

Christmas tree in western Japan with 51,626 message cards attached sets world record:
"A giant Christmas tree at an elementary school here in western Japan decorated with 51,626 message cards was recognized by Guinness World Records on Dec. 8 for having the highest number of notes attached to it."

Amazon Fire HD 10 review: still a top budget tablet:
"Faster processor, updated software and good screen make Amazon’s 10in hard to beat for £150."

How to Install the Google PlayStore in your Amazon Fire Tablet:
"See how you can install the Google PlayStore in your Amazon Fire tablet and control your smart home with it."

As London’s Tube Expands, So Does the Fight Over Its Map:
"It’s never been easy to design a map of the city’s underground transit network. But soon, critics say, legibility concerns will demand a new look."

Here are the weirdest and worst Christmas gifts of 2019:
"Vancouver Courier’s 15th annual Dreck the Halls gift guide to the unusual, strange and just plain wrong."

Christmas Links #9

Will It Snow In London This Christmas?
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... just like the ones I used to know."

Deep and crisp and vegan: now meat-free festive fare goes exotic:
"For years, a plant-based diet was seen as dull. But as more and more people embrace it, food stores are upping their game."

Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas:
"Fanny Cradock's recipes for a successful Christmas."

Borders towns see Christmas trees shrink by a third:
"Christmas trees put up at sites across the Borders have shrunk by a third compared to previous years."

Christmas tree of kegs lights up in New York:
"Genesee Brewery in Rochester, New York made a Keg Tree for the holidays out of 530 empty half barrel beer kegs."

Christmas Links #8

Lizzie and Tomas revisited:
"... Spoiler, but I predicted they would get married and… well, the reason there’s no review of the latest Blind Date today is because I am AT LIZZIE AND TOMAS’S WEDDING. I know. Amazing."

From cantatas to carols: the best classical Christmas albums of 2019:
"From small-scale Bach and Renaissance Spain to a poignant Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, there is festive uplift for all."

This 'underwhelming' roadside Christmas tree has delighted commuters for decades:
"'Some people talk about him being a little beacon as they drive home,' says Ed McHugh"

Devils chase children in Czech village's eerie Christmas custom:
"Masked devils march through the village, rattling their chains and clanking bells, going door-to-door to search for badly-behaved children."

Greg Davies switches on Christmas lights in Wem:
"He had one task and Shropshire-born comedian Greg Davies mastered it well when he performed the annual Wem Christmas Lights switch on."

37 Things That'll Make Late '90s Kids Say, "This Is How I Remember Christmastime!"
"It was a simple time, back when all you wanted was a Furby, Beanie Babies, and Old Navy Performance Fleece."

Christmas Links #7

The Nightmares Before (And After) Christmas:
"A Hobo’s Christmas (1987)"

'It shows a nicer way of life': meet the makers of the £100 viral Christmas ad:
"Hafod Hardware owners in Wales say simple message has struck a chord with viewers."

Taylor Swift’s Music Video for ‘Christmas Tree Farm’ Marks the Arrival of Swiftmas:
"The music video for “Christmas Tree Farm,” has premiered, marking the official beginning of the holiday season, and, of course, of Swift’s birthday month."

Someone Said Kim Kardashian's Christmas Ornaments Look Like Evil Tampons And It's Me, I'm Someone:
"Giant creepy dildos? Happy holidays!"

Christmas sweaters are adding to plastic pollution, environmental charity says:
"Most Christmas sweaters are made of plastic and are likely to contribute to plastic pollution in the world's oceans, an environmental charity has warned."

The Christmas Chronicles 2 Coming To Netflix – With Goldie Hawn As Mrs Claus:
"Last year Netflix gave us an instant contender for the all-time-great movie Santas in The Christmas Chronicles – a Chris Columbus-produced festive adventure movie that cast none other than Kurt Russell as the man with the, er, bulging sack. It was evidently a hit, because the streaming service has just announced a sequel – The Christmas Chronicles 2 – coming in 2020."

The 2010s Broke Our Sense Of Time:
"The rhythms of American life changed in the 2010s. How everything from TV to Trump to Instagram messed with your head just enough that time feels like it melted." [via]