Families play on the snow-covered slopes at Barnett Demesne Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
© Stephen Barnes/Alam
Happy Boxing Day!
In some older traditions in the western world, December 26 was the day nobles and other property owners offered gifts to servants and employees. It's not clear if 'boxing' refers to the boxes that held these presents, or to donation boxes customarily set up for the poor on the holiday of ‘Boxing Day’—nor if these were so much gifts as reminders of one's place on the feudal social ladder. Nevertheless, this holiday on the day after Christmas remains rooted in Christian societies.
Volcano Llaima with Araucaria trees in the foreground, Conguillío National Park, Chile
City Palace on the banks of Lake Pichola in Udaipur, India
Red lanterns hanging in Jinli Street, Chengdu, China
Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur old town
The Cobb breakwater, Lyme Regis, Dorset, England
Porto, Portugal
Clearing snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, California
Stones in a river near the hamlet of Lavertezzo, in the Valle Verzasca of Switzerland
