I remember looking at a calendar as a kid and seeing Boxing Day listed on December 26th. I never understood why it was listed or even what it was. In my young mind, I believed it had something to do with dogs.
As I got older, I dismissed it and never researched it. I was an American, and I knew that whatever it was, it was not celebrated here.
However, when I began to research Christmas Eve and Christmas and the history behind it, I noticed that Boxing Day kept coming up, so I decided to look into it. What I found was an interesting history, and I now wish it was something we did in the States.
What is Boxing Day?
The first thing to know about Boxing Day is that it originally came from the United Kingdom, and the countries that celebrate it are those that were once part of its global empire.
Boxing Day has evolved throughout history and is now very similar to Black Friday in America.
It occurs on December 26th and is primarily a shopping holiday with some sports traditions.
Retail stores typically lower their prices to create great deals for shoppers. Shoppers then spend their day fighting the foot traffic and trying to get in on the insane deals. This is the part that is identical to Black Friday, which is the American version of Boxing Day. It is just held the day after Thanksgiving rather than the day after Christmas.
Boxing Day also carries with it many different sports traditions. Depending on the country, sporting events such as cricket, rugby, soccer, and others are held and are popular among its spectators.
However, Boxing Day was not always about great deals and large sporting events. It used to be much more modest.
Dating back centuries, Boxing Day had to do with the "Christmas Box." Tradesmen such as milkman, paper boys, postal workers, etc, would walk their route the day after Christmas and collect Christmas Boxes. The Christmas Boxes that were given to these workers were presents from their customers to show their thanks for their service.
Wealthy families would often use this day as a day off for their servants. Servants would usually serve the wealthy family on the day of Christmas, so on the day after, they would get a day off to spend with their family along with a Christmas Box that contained gifts for them.
Its beginning had to do with showing appreciation.
While this no longer happens, many people still do this. They give extra tips to their mail carrier or other trade workers during the holiday season.
Around The World
Boxing Day is recognized by many different countries. The following is a list of countries that celebrate Boxing Day:
In Australia, Boxing Day is a public holiday in all jurisdictions except the state of South Australia, where a public holiday known as Proclamation Day is celebrated on the first weekday after Christmas Day or the Christmas Day holiday. Both the Boxing Day Test cricket match held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begin on Boxing Day.
In Canada, Boxing Day (French: le lendemain de Noël) is a federal statutory holiday. Government offices, banks, and postal services are closed. In Ontario, it is a provincial statutory holiday.
In Hong Kong, despite the transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997, Boxing Day is a general holiday as the first weekday after Christmas.
In Ireland, when the entire island was part of the United Kingdom, the Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of Saint Stephen as a non-moveable public holiday on 26 December. Following partition in 1920, Northern Ireland reverted to the British name, Boxing Day. In East Donegal and Inishowen, the day is also popularly known as Boxing Day.
In New Zealand, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday. On these holidays, people who must work receive 1 ½ times their salaries, and a day in lieu is provided to employees who work.
In Nigeria, Boxing Day is a public holiday for working people and students. When it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there is always a holiday on Monday.
In Scotland, Boxing Day has been specified as an additional bank holiday since 1974 [23] by royal proclamation under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
In Singapore, Boxing Day was a public holiday for working people and students; when it fell on a Saturday or Sunday, there was a holiday on Monday. However, in recent years, this tradition has ceased in Singapore.
In South Africa, the Day of Goodwill, which falls on 26 December, is a public holiday.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Boxing Day is a public holiday.
In the UK, 26 December (unless it is a Sunday) has been a bank holiday since 1871. When 26 December falls on a Saturday, the associated public holiday is on the following Monday. When 26 December falls on a Sunday, the public holiday is the following Tuesday, Monday being the public holiday associated with Christmas Day.
In the British overseas territory of Bermuda, the costumed Gombey dancers perform throughout the mid-Atlantic island on Boxing Day, a tradition believed to date back to the 18th century when slaves were permitted to gather at Christmastime.
In Massachusetts, Governor William F. Weld declared every 26 December is Boxing Day, in response to the efforts of a coalition of British citizens to "transport the English tradition to the United States," but not an employee holiday.
It surprised me to learn that Massachusetts recognizes Boxing Day but does not celebrate it. It is ironic that the birthplace of the American Revolution is the only state to have some ties with England still.