Celebrated a day after Christmas, Boxing Day is marked in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. While there are no definitive theory as to when the day was first commemorated, it is usually supposed to have had started sometime in Britain in the 1830s. The day is generally defined as the first weekday after Christmas, which is observed as a holiday during which errand boys, servants and postmen expect some sort of a Christmas box.
Contrary to what the name suggests, Boxing Day has nothing to do with the sport boxing.
Some say that the tradition began in the Middle Ages in churches where parishioners collected money for the poor in alms boxes. The collection was opened on the day after Christmas in honour of St Stephen, who is regarded as the first martyr of Christianity. The day is thus, also called Saint Stephen’s Day or the ‘Feast of Stephen’.
However, Eastern Orthodox Church which follows the Byzantine Rite and in Oriental Orthodox Churches, Saint Stephen’s feast day is celebrated on December 27.
Another school of thought suggests that the custom is linked to an older British tradition where the servants of the wealthy were allowed to visit their families on the day after Christmas. The employers would give each servant a box to take home that contained gifts or bonuses.
While the Oxford English Dictionary places the origins of the Boxing Day as being mid-19th century, when the custom of giving traders a Christmas Box began, the tradition perhaps predates the 19th century. Samuel Pepys, who was an administrator of the navy of England and Member of Parliament, most well-known for his diary, wrote on his December 19, 1663 entry, “Thence by coach to my shoemaker’s and paid all there, and gave something to the boys’ box against Christmas.”
{{/usCountry}}While the Oxford English Dictionary places the origins of the Boxing Day as being mid-19th century, when the custom of giving traders a Christmas Box began, the tradition perhaps predates the 19th century. Samuel Pepys, who was an administrator of the navy of England and Member of Parliament, most well-known for his diary, wrote on his December 19, 1663 entry, “Thence by coach to my shoemaker’s and paid all there, and gave something to the boys’ box against Christmas.”
{{/usCountry}}Boxing Day has been a bank holiday since 1871 in the UK. For the years when December 26 falls on a Saturday, Boxing Day is celebrated on the following Monday. For the times, the date falls on a Sunday, the celebrations are moved to Tuesday.
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