Welsand's in London

Boxing Day at Buckingham Palace

Boxing Day, also known as St. Stephen's Day, is the following day after Christmas Day, December 26. Like Christmas Day it is also a national holiday in England. It is also celebrated in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The name goes back to medieval times, more than 800 years ago, when alms boxes were placed at the back of every church to collect money for the poor.

Historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with Christmas boxes.

We decided to utilize this day as most Brits do, to spend time together as a family. We decided to go see the Changing of the Guards ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen .

Changing the Guard is one of the oldest and most familiar ceremonies associated with Buckingham Palace. The proper name of the ceremony known as 'Changing the Guard' is actually Guard Mounting. In this process a New Guard exchanges duty with the Old Guard, drawn from one of the regiments of Foot Guards.

The handover is accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranges from traditional military marches to songs from the shows and even familiar pop songs. Since 1660, Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces.

It was a very interesting ceremony, there is nothing else like it! While we didn't have the best view it was worth experiencing. We hope to take guests who are interested there to see it as well.

posted by Chris @ 1:00 PM