Boxing Day in Montreal: some shop, others doze

MONTREAL - In the future, anthropologists will surely deconstruct our Boxing Day tradition, which sees desperate shoppers struggle cheek-to-jowl to compete for retail bargains a day after Christmas.

Some in Montreal participated in the custom Monday by camping out as early as 1:00 a.m. to get better access to goods which would only be up for sale a dozen hours later.

Some of those retailers enabled those shopping fanatics by offering even more than bargains to those waiting.

"They graciously gave out these hand-warmers," said frost-weary shopper Kevin Decarie-Bergeron, 18. "I've been stuffing them in my shoes and socks."

By the end of the season, holiday sales are expected to top last year's totals by three percent, according to the Canadian Retail Council, although some suggest that is because of an increase in the sale of luxury goods.

And while Canadians attempt to snap up bargains, debt continues to soar, surpassing American levels for the first time.

But for those who can afford it, Boxing Day dealing is smart shopping, according to at least one retailer.

"It's for the best interest of customers," says Thierry Lopez of Future Shop. "They come every year and get better deals every year. Technology is more popular than ever more accessible than ever."

Line-ups at non-tech stores appeared less daunting than in previous years, possibly due to the rise of on-line shopping.

Meanwhile many Montrealers took the mild, sunny afternoon off for decidedly less commercial pursuits.

"We never go Boxing Day shopping," said Linda Ofiara. "We always like to come out and do something outside after Christmas. We've eaten too much and it's time for us to sort of come out and do some exercise."

Her ritual also involved some less strenuous activities.

"Now we're going to head home and watch the World Juniors play, because we're a real hockey family. So we really enjoy watching hockey especially on Boxing Day," she said.

CTV Montreal tracked another family down to the slippery slopes of Mount Royal. They too were making a concerted effort at avoiding the retail jungle.

"Look at the sky, look at the snow," said Francois Sanche. "We didn't have snow until the last few days. So it's time to just enjoy."

His kids, however, were apparently a little overwhelmed by the bucolic bliss. At least one had fallen into a deep slumber while their dad spoke to the cameras.