Happy boxing day Fairmount park houses Dec 09

It's boxing day; the day after Christmas, and thinking about how I finally found out just what boxing day is all about gives me a good excuse to avoid the paying work I must do and write this blog. (play first, work later?)

My sister-in-law, my niece, and I recently visited Fairmount Park in Philly to see some of the historic houses there dressed up for Christmas. This is a Philly tradition, and even though the houses are owned by different entities, including the city and the Art Museum, many of them decorate for Christmas and open for tours. We visited four houses that day, built in different architectural styles in periods of the 18th and early 19th century. I won't go into the history here, but if you google Fairmount Park houses you can take a look. I will say that many of these houses were built up on a bluff overlooking the river to allow their owners, wealthy Philadelphians (both patriots and loyalists), to escape from the periodic yellow fever epidemics that swept through the city.

So-what about Boxing Day, you ask? My knowledge of British history is very poor, but I can't imagine how this little tidbit of info did not make it into my brain at some point-shame on me! Anyway, I asked one of the docents in a house we visited about the origins of the day and the name, and she told me that it was tradition to give the servants off the day after Christmas, and to provide them with boxes of leftover Christmas dinner and goodies to take home to their families. Thus the name boxing day. Interesting, huh? I also learned another little tidbit of history that I'll reveal later on.

So now to some pictures


The Art Museum

Lemon Hill

The oval room and the view from

One of the curved doors

The tree upstairs

Mount Pleasant-very Georgian!

One shot of Ormiston

This last shot is from Woodford. These andirons appeared in many of the houses we visited that day, and I just had to ask about their meaning and significance.

The docent told me that they represent Hessians. Patriots used them in their fireplaces because they wanted all the Hessians to burn in hell!!!!! LMAO-can you imagine the savvy entrepreneur who created these things? I hope he made a fortune!!! Appropriately enough, I leave you with a very American success story-find a need and fill it.

Have a great weekend and happy Boxing Day!