Todd: So Mark, what happens on boxing day?
Mark: On boxing day in England it's usually football day. Everybody goes and watches the football. Usually all the family go, so maybe grandad and grandma will go. In England on Boxing day, it's usually the highest attendance of the year.
Todd: Oh, really?
Mark: Yeah, so we wake up on boxing day around about 11 o'clock, usually with a big hangover because we've been drinking of Christmas day and so to get rid of the hangover, what do we do? We actually drink more alcohol so we usually go to the bar around 11. Drink a lot of beer and then go the football around about 2 and watch the game.
Todd: What's it like at the stadium?
Mark: Usually a really good atmosphere on boxing day because, yeah, and there are really big crowds and everybody is really happy cause it's Christmas, so usually there's some guys dressed as Santa Clause, or people are wearing like Christmas decorations, and it's a really good atmosphere. Yeah.
boxing day
Boxing Day in England is usually football day.
'Boxing Day' is traditionally the first weekday after Christmas when rich people or companies gave their employees presents. Notice the following:
- Does your company celebrate Boxing Day?
- We all went to the game on Boxing Day.
highest attendance
That day usually has the highest attendance of the year.
The 'highest attendance' means the most people who have come to an even during the year. Notice the following:
- This year's graduation ceremony had the highest attendance in
years.
- The concert she gave in New York had the highest attendance.
hangover
We wake up usually with a big hangover from drinking the night before.
People with a hangover have a bad headache and feel sick in their stomach from drinking to much alcohol the previous day. Notice the following:
- Many people have hangovers on January 1st.
- I had such a bad hangover after my sister's wedding.
get rid of
To get rid of the hangover, we actually drink more alcohol.
Here, "to get rid of" means to make something go away or to remove something. Notice the following:
- We need to get rid of all these boxes.
- I am drinking lots of orange juice to get rid of this cold.
atmosphere
There's really a good atmosphere at the stadium, since it's Christmas.
In this case 'atmosphere' refers to the general emotional feeling of a place. Notice the following:
- The whole atmosphere in the company changed after she left.
- The office has a fun atmosphere during the holidays.
Vocabulary Quiz
got rid of • atmosphere