Why that name?

Why is it called Boxing Day? In certain countries, the 26th of December is based on the tradition of giving gifts to the less fortunate members of society.

So a couple of thoughts. First of all, why on the day after Christmas? Isn't that disrespectful? I mean, you're dividing the time of giving into two days - the 25th for the people you know and care about, and the 26th - the day AFTER the wonderful time of (a very commercial, but whatever) Christmas - for those who are socially inferior, probably have no relatives, no friends, and are in need of more attention than the extra attention you already give to your friends. It's like, you ended up with a bunch of extra stuff from Christmas and you don't know what to do with it so you'll just get rid of it by giving it to less fortunate people. Well, that's bloody nice of you isn't it, why didn't you just visit the poor chaps on Christmas eve or Christmas evening and say "Here you go pal, a little something on this special day!"? Oh that's right, YOUR special day is the day after everyone else's!

And another thing, what's with the name? It's supposedly a day of giving, yet it gives the impression of giving blows to someone's face.Why not call it Getting-rid-of-stuff-by-giving-it-to-the-poor day? Here you go old man! Pow! Right in the kisser. Happy Boxing Day! What, can't handle a Round 2? Come on, I'm being generous!

Oh and, Happy Birthday to that drummer we love, hate, and love to hate for being such a dick sometimes. Here's to another 45 years, Lars Urlich!

Merry Christmas.

And Happy Chanukah (or Hanukkah).

And of course, starting from tomorrow, Happy Kwanzaa to my African-American friends. Not that I have any. I did, but I don't anymore. That was in America. I'm not in America now. I'm just saying it like, in general. Hmm.

It's so easy to buy presents for the little'uns. You just need to know two things: High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Let all the advertising, commercialisation and mass production do the rest.

They're everywhere.

So you decide to go to Valletta to do a little bit of Christmas shopping, and who do you see walking towards you? Someone with a clipboard and a nervous look on his face, sporting a goddamn Vodafone logo on a dark blue polo shirt.

Yes, I use Vodafone.

No, I don't spend more than 10 euros a month, thank you very much now get the fuck out and leave me alone.

You take a couple of steps when you see someone else walking towards you. Someone with a clipboard and a nervous look on his face, sporting a goddamn Go Mobile logo on a dark blue polo shirt.

Oh fuck, not this again.

Yes, I use Go Mobile now leave me alone I'm busy kthxBAI.

A couple more steps.

You see him from the corner of your eye. Oh no, you are NOT talking to ME, asshole. So you cross to the other side of the main road to avoid any interaction with him. Phew, that was close.

You repeat this for a couple more times before you finally make it to... the other end of the city entrance. The city ENTRANCE. Dear God, is the whole main road riddled with bored and nervous mobile company employees who would do anything to sell something to someone for a little extra commission?

And I swear they increase in number as Christmas draws nearer. They're like a bunch of zombies all coming towards you saying BUUUUUY OOOOUUUUR PRRRROOOODDUUCCCTSS. And then you have to try to dodge them all like it's some fucking warzone.

Fuck you, let me do my Christmas shopping in peace.

A punk rock Christmas.

It's that time of the year again where we dish out the old Christmas classics from the back of the CD rack and play them non-stop, whether the whole family likes it or not. Not me though, I have my own playlist.

Yes, you guessed it, they're mainly rock-driven songs, but they're still great to play anywhere during the festive season. Here's a few of the songs from my Christmas playlist - download them or ask me to send them to you if you're interested.

• My Chemical Romance's version of "All I want for Christmas is You". Upbeat, fast, and headbangable.
• "I Won't be Home for Christmas" by Blink-182. It's not exactly the cheeriest of festive songs, but it's funny as hell. I love running the scenes through my head as I listen to the lyrics.
• Simple Plan's "My Christmas List". The whiny pop-punk band offers a great singalong for whiny teenagers. Honestly, I don't know why they came up with such childish lyrics but it's a fun Christmas song.
• "Punk Rock Christmas" - The Sex Pistols. Yeah, what else would these guys name the song.