Dad and I were discussing Boxing Day Christmas eve... Here's what I found...
Boxing Day!
Boxing Day! I’m celebrating this day, also called St Stephens Day after the first Christian martyr, in Vancouver BC — where it is a really big deal. It’s the shopping equivalent to America’s Black Friday, although even our odious post-Thanksgiving tradition is rumored to have spread north across the border to keep Canadians from heading south to our big-box stores for deals.
What is Boxing Day? Celebrated throughout the British Commonwealth as an official holiday; Brits, for instance, get four days off work this weekend: Saturday, Sunday, Monday for Christmas and then Tuesday for Boxing Day!
You’ve probably heard it has something to do with boxing up all the Christmas decorations, or boxing up the unwanted gifts to return them to stores, or even actual fighting among families too tired of arguing with one another after “enjoying” the holidays together.
None of these are true. Here’s some generally accepted explanations of how Boxing Day might have got its name:
What is Boxing Day? Celebrated throughout the British Commonwealth as an official holiday; Brits, for instance, get four days off work this weekend: Saturday, Sunday, Monday for Christmas and then Tuesday for Boxing Day!
You’ve probably heard it has something to do with boxing up all the Christmas decorations, or boxing up the unwanted gifts to return them to stores, or even actual fighting among families too tired of arguing with one another after “enjoying” the holidays together.
None of these are true. Here’s some generally accepted explanations of how Boxing Day might have got its name:
Some historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes.
Church Alms Boxes
Another theory is that the boxes placed in churches where parishioners deposited coins for the poor were opened and the contents distributed on December 26, which is also the Feast of St. Stephen.
As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. This tradition survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, mail carriers, doormen, porters, and others who have helped them.
