Boxing Day
“Christmas is over but the fun is not because it’s boxing day. With a heart full of love, wishing you an awesome boxing day full of happiness and cheers!”
In the US, Christmas ends rather abruptly after the presents have been opened. Sure, we usually have a Christmas dinner, but the weight of the season vanishes along with the discarded wrapping paper.
The weeks leading up to Christmas are no less frenetic in the UK; however, the celebrating really just begins on Christmas Eve. The UK aligns more with the Twelve Days of Christmas (the last six days of the old year—Dec 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, & 31, and the first six days of the New Year—Jan 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Take the following ridiculous nonsense as an example of how this Twelve Days of Christmas madness effects the lives of real people:
The past few days have felt more like Lent than Christmas—abstaining from frou-frou coffee. So what have I been looking most forward to as the week began anew? The magical drinking experience that is Bastard Barista. But no! Not only are they closed today for Boxing Day, but they are closed for the entire Twelve &^%$#@ Days of Christmas it would seem!
But what is this weird holiday, Boxing Day? Boxing Day is obviously celebrated in the UK on the next day after Christmas. As far back as 1663, it was a custom in Britain for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas, as thanks for good service throughout the year. The more modern tradition is to give money and presents to the needy. In any event, it’s a stupid holiday because I’ve missed my window to enjoy one last mocha at Bastard Barista before we depart for London! So much for “today’s good mood supported by coffee.” Hope I don’t have to do anything drastic—like go to Starbucks! (Perhaps I’m missing the underlying message of the day).
Arthur’s Seat Coffins
Coffee was only intended as the opener for today’s 2 pm tour of the Real Mary King’s Close. After 40+ days in Edinburgh, the top three places you must visit if you come to Edinburgh are Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the Real Mary King’s Close. More on today’s visit to Mary King’s Close in a minute.
When we visited Rosslyn Chapel with Pam this past Tuesday (12/20), I was in the gift shop and picked up a copy of Ian Rankin’s book The Falls, and then serendipitously found a copy while walking through a thrift shop in Linlithgow on Thursday (12/22). In any event, at Rosslyn I read the introduction wherein Rankin explained how he often has people approach him for ideas for his next book. During a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, an employee suggested he go the fourth floor of the Scottish History department within the museum and check out the Arthur’s Seat Coffins. Rankin was so intrigued by the creepy little coffins that he incorporated them into the novel. New information in hand, we had to return to the museum and look for the coffins, of course.
On June 25, 1836, some boys were searching for rabbits’ burrows in the rocky formations on the southern range of Arthur’s Seat. In the side of a cliff, one spotted a small opening in the rocks, the peculiar appearance of which attracted his attention. The opening was closed by three thin pieces of slate-stone, rudely cut at the upper ends into a conical form, and so placed as to protect the interior from the effects of the weather.
When the slate was removed, it revealed a little niche wherein hid seventeen tiny coffins, each three or four inches long.
In the coffins were miniature wooden figures, each dressed differently in both style and material.
There were two tiers of eight coffins each, and a third one begun, with one coffin. What made the coffins even more mysterious was that they had been deposited one at a time in the miniature cave, over the course of many years. In the first tier, the coffins were quite decayed, and the wrappings had moldered away. In the second tier, the effects of age had not advanced so far. And the top coffin looked quite recent.
Who made them and their purpose remains a mystery.
In 2005, however, George Dalgliesh, principal curator of Scottish history at the National Museum of Scotland, stated that he believed “the most credible theory is that [they] were made by someone who knew Burke and Hare,” and so had a strong motive to make amends for their crimes.
William Burke and William Hare were two serial killers active in Edinburgh between 1827 and 1828. They famously sold their victims' bodies to Dr Robert Knox, an influential lecturer in the Anatomy department at the University of Edinburgh.
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Keeping with the theme of the macabre, we returned to Greyfriars Kirkyard so Pam could see the three graves typically associated with principle characters from the Harry Potter books.
On our way we stopped by the gate leading to the Covenanter’s Prison. In 1679 over a thousand Covenanters—Scottish Christians who were battling for a new style of worship and church organization—were kept prisoner in this corner of the graveyard. They were left out of doors for over four months, surviving on scraps of bread and any extra food which kindly locals were able to sneak in to them. Not surprisingly many died, and more were later executed. The melancholy spot now bears a memorial to those who lost their lives in this atrocity.
According the City of the Dead Tour’s website, one such Covenanter still haunts the kirkyard as a spectre:
Over the last several years, one small tomb in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Cemetery has become famous as the lair of a malevolent paranormal entity. The tomb is known as the “Black Mausoleum” and is located behind the high walls and locked gates of an area known as the Covenanter’s Prison. The entity has been named “The Mackenzie Poltergeist.”
If you’re interested, the link above does provide for an interesting read. Otherwise, we’re off—through the old Flodden Wall—to see some more benevolent ghosts: McGonagall, Moody, and Riddle.
Thankfully, touching the stones did not transport anyone to another century.
Well, Thomas Riddell did die in the early 19th Century, so in a way passing through the stones did take us back.
How our view of death has changed over the years.
These old graveyards are an endless source of fascination.
So called Mortsafes to prevent bodysnatchers from exhuming the recently buried.
A mortsafe from inside the National Museum of Scotland.
A dancing skeleton carrying a scythe on the headstone of the grave of James Borthwick of Stow.
Mary King’s Close
We ended the afternoon with the Real Mary King’s Close tour.
The main part of the building known today as the City Chambers (above) was built in 1753 and was originally called The Royal Exchange.
Prior to its construction, you have to imagine looking toward the building above and instead seeing four closes that departed the Royal Mile and followed the rapidly sloping hillside that drops behind the building. One such close was named Mary King’s Close, taking its name from one Mary King, a merchant burgess who resided on the close in the 17th century.
This is looking from the opposite direction: toward the Royal Mile. The tall buildings at the top of the image above faced the Royal Mile. The rows of houses—and the closes between them—ran down the slope behind the Royal Mile and are now covered over by the City Chambers. Mary King’s Close is the walkway at the very right edge of the photo above, and Allan’s Close is next to the left (as shown below).
The Royal Exchange (now City Chambers) was built over top Mary King’s Close along with the other three closes. But all is not gone and forgotten, because the four old closes and the homes that one existed between them, are still intact under the present-day buildings. Because the tour takes place under a government building, photographs are not allowed (or that is the excuse they gave us).
The steps and walkway shown above are Mary King’s Close and on the tour you walk down the old Close as it was in the 1500s. Pretty amazing!
The tour was really fascinating and I highly recommend you follow the link or just search Real Mary King’s Close. Unlike our previous tour of the vaults under South Bridge, the streets and homes are very much visible and discernible in Mary King’s Close. You can easily imagine everything as it was, even the sky that is no longer visible over the close.
We’re on the move!
Tomorrow we have to move homes. We’re sad as the Old Merchant’s House has been our home for 45 days and we’ve loved our time here. But all good things must come to an end. We’ll give you a tour of our new place tomorrow.
