In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important thing of the year except graduation of commencement day(毕业典礼日).Students plan Homecoming Day for many weeks in advance(预先).

    Several days before Homecoming，students start to decorate the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team，and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.

    The members of school clubs build booths(摊位)and sell lemonade，apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome the visitors.

    During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.

    Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over，the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students vote a most popular student as Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor(荣誉)to be chosen.

    Homecoming is a happy day，but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the team loses，the students still enjoy Homecoming Day. Some stay at the school to dance，and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.

    In Britain, Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26^th, which is the following day after Christmas Day. However, strictly speaking. Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas. Like Christmas Day. Boxing Day sing a public holiday. This means it's a non-working day in the whole of Britain. When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is the public holiday.

    The exact origin（起源）of the holiday is unclear. One of the thoughts is that during the Middle Ages, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, a Christmas Box was placed by a priest （神父）on each ship. Those sailors who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was sealed up and kept on board until the ship came home safely. Then the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks for the success of the sailing. The priest wouldn't open it to share the contents with the poor until Christmas.

    One more thought is about the “Alms Box” placed in every church on Christmas Day. Worshippers （做礼拜的人）put gifts for the poor into it. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, that is why that day became know as Boxing Day.

    Today, many businesses, organizations and families try to keep the traditional spirit of Boxing Day alive by donating（捐赠）their time, services and money to aid Food Banks, providing gifts for the poor, or helping families in need. Besides, spending time with family and shopping are popular Boxing Day activities now.

    Today there are policemen everywhere, but in 1700, London had no policemen at all. A few old men used to protect the city streets at night and they were not paid.

    About 300 years ago, London was starting to get bigger and more and more people began to live there. The city was very dirty and many people were poor. There were so many thieves who stole money in the streets that people stayed in their houses as much as possible.

    In 1749, Henry Fielding started to pay a group of people for stopping thieves. They were like policemen and were called "Bow Street Runners" because they worked near Bow Street.

    Fifty years later, there were about 120"Bow Street Runners", but London had become very big and needed more policemen. So in 1829, the first Metropolitan (or London) Police Service was started with about 3, 000 officers. Most of the men worked on foot, but a few rode horses.

Today, London police are quite well—paid and for the few police officers who still ride horses, the pay is even higher than for the others.