Talk:Boxing Day: Difference between revisions

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Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas Day. This is substantiated in numerous documents, and in perfectly clear language in both the Oxford English Dictionary and also the Merriam Webster Dictionary (the most recent versions of each, and naturally in preceeding versions.) So, referring to several of the comments below, then Boxing Day is not on a fixed date. Decades of tradition and historical data cannot simply be ignored because popular opinion feels like a change.

"In Ireland the 26th is known as St Stephen's Day". This is misleading: As stated correctly in the article Saint Stephen, his feast is on the 26th in the West in general, even in some Lutheran churches.
S.

Certainly St Stephen's day is a fixed date of 26th December. I thought Boxing Day was always the 26th. The origins of the name have a number of Urban legend associated but the tradition of giving to servants is an accepted fact. Because in older days there were no holidays particularly for servants I suggest that Boxing Day is actually a fixed date. Rjstott

Boxing Day itself is on a fixed day, but -- if the 26th is on a weekend -- the public holiday for it occurs on the first working day following the 26th. A bit of a fine distinction, but that's how it works here in Canada, anyway. -- Paul Drye

You are right for the UK also, most people celebrate Boxing Day on December 26 if it falls on a Sunday. Some Christians don't due to the clash with their Sabbath. However, Boxing Day is a secular celebration (as is evidenced by the people who celebrate it), not a Christian one, so I think the general wisdom should win out in terms of dating, I have made a note on the beliefs of Christians in the article.Rje 15:03, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Unless, of course, Christmas and Boxing Day both fall on weekend days - in which case the Boxing Day Holiday is the 2nd day after the weekend (Christmas Day Holiday being the first). Eg. This year's Christmas:

Sat Dec 25 (weekend day)
Sun Dec 26 (weekend day)
Mon Dec 27 (holiday)
Tue Dec 28 (holiday)
Wed Dec 29
Thu Dec 30
Fri Dec 31
Sat Jan 1 (weekend day)
Sun Jan 2 (weekend day)
Mon Jan 3 (holiday)

-- Chuq 21:18, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

That's how it is in the UK too. I'll edit the article. -- Derek Ross

I heard it was because, in Victorian times, one spent Christmas with one's family, then went out on Boxing Day to visit one's friends and give them presents. I suppose this explanation somewhat fits with the giving servant's presents one. -- SJK

Ah, User:Jess Cully had it right. In my Commonwealth country (Bermuda), Boxing Day itself is always on the 26th - the day off work associated with it may move to the day following (just as if November 11th - or any other holiday on a fixed calendar day - is on a Sunday, people get the following Monday off), but Boxing Day stays on the day after Christmas. The same seems to be true in the rest (Canada above, and the UK, from Cully's comments). Noel (talk) 12:14, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Football or Soccer

The article makes mention of Boxing Day as a day of sport, and states football and horseracing as the most common. I'm just wondering if football in this context means American football or soccer, since this holiday is observed primarily in places where soccer is called football. I just thought that needs some clarification. :) Cookiecaper 19:42, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Yeah I reckon it means Soccer.

Another thing... The article never explains where the name 'boxing' comes from. Does that relate to the sport of boxing, or what? -- Nojer2 10:04, 18 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I just added the various origins and explanations Chewxy 04:37, 24 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Boxing on Boxing Day

I don't know if the name Boxing Day has to to with the sport boxing, but when Jack Johnson, USA won the World Heavyweight Championship in Professional Boxing, he won against Tommy Burns, Canada in Sydney, Australia on December 26 1908, on a Boxing Day!

26 December vs First Weekday

The controversy over whether 26 December is still Boxing Day if it falls on a weekend rages on. No sooner do I put up the UK populist view that Boxing Day is always the 26th, than some advocate of the theory that Boxing Day is the first weekday after Xmas reverts it. I would suggest that if the overwhelming majority of the general public celebrate Boxing Day on 26 December every year, then that has acquired common law status. I have some sympathy with calling Monday 27th December Boxing Day, as that is actually what happened between 1954 and 1993 (though it doesn't happen any more). However, hardly anyone has ever called Monday 28th December Boxing Day. As that position is never, ever likely to win any substantial support base, I suggest that it is futile for its tiny community of supporters to kick against the pricks. Jess Cully 18:11, 2 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

In Australia, the first weekday after Xmas is the Boxing Day holiday (if the 26th falls on a weekend). I'd be inclined to remove the "fact" that Boxing Day itself is the first weekday after Xmas, as almost all sources these days refer to the 26th. If popular usage by reputable sources changes, encyclopaedias are supposed to reflect the change, not stick their fingers in their ears and continue to claim they are right. StuartH 04:33, 13 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It's been reworded (still needs some rewording). The few significant news sources that I can think of off the top of my head (SMH, ABC and BBC) all refer to Sunday, 26th December 2004 as "Boxing Day", and links have been provided. If the term "Boxing Day Holiday" is widely used, maybe that should be added too. StuartH 05:15, 13 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Stuart, I think we can safely assume that The Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopedia Brittanica are much more respected standard-bearers of information than "ABC", and previously mentioned (by someone) the TV Times. As much as you may wish, you can't just pick and choose the bits that you want to believe in. The date of Boxing Day is not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact. It's the first weekday after Christmas. JaneDunnie

The point I am trying to make is that every major respected news source defines Boxing Day as the 26th of December, and if you live in a country which celebrates Boxing Day you would be aware that the popular usage overwhelmingly dominates the dictionary definitions. In popular usage, there is a clear distinction between Boxing Day and the Boxing Day holiday - I've never heard anyone say that Christmas falls on the 27th if the 25th is a Saturday. Dictionaries are supposed to reflect the usage of words, not dictate them. StuartH 00:15, 14 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

In Canada, Boxing Day is the 26th. Period. Last year, it fell on a Sunday, but all the calendars still showed it as the 26th. Even if the statutory public holiday falls on the 27th or 28th, people still refer to the day after Christmas being Boxing Day. Despite what JaneDunnie states above, Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as the 26th, and further states: "When December 26 comes on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is designated as the official public holiday." That does not make Boxing Day the first weekday after Christmas -- it's simply a recognition that the statutory holiday may fall on another day than the 26th. As StuartH has brilliantly noted, there is a huge difference between Boxing Day and the statutory holiday -- just as no one says Christmas falls on the 27th (although the statutory holiday might), Boxing Day does not fall on the 27th or 28th (although the statutory holiday might). Skeezix1000 14:40, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a way that we can achieve consensus on this point, with the verdict either way, so that the article is no longer subject to edit wars back and forth? Skeezix1000 14:40, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Is it not fair to say that Boxing Day occurs on the 26th December, but the Boxing Day bank holiday occurs on the first weekday after Christmas Day? Interestingly this year we have Christmas Day on Sunday 25th and Boxing Day on Monday 26th, but Christmas Day bank holiday afterwards on Tuesday 27th. David 20:20, 3 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I think we need to refer to the origins of the holiday to decide. The article mentions the first weekday being a holiday for servants as being one of the most probable origins. If this is true, then it seems resonable that Boxing Day is not fixed, and that it should be the first weekday after Christmas. There again, if its origins lie elsewhere, perhaps there's an arguement for Boxing Day being the 26th and the holiday distinct from it (but often on the same day). As there appears to be no religious reason for Boxing Day, simply a coincidence with St Stephen's day, the servants having to work Christmas and getting the next working day off seems a good bet to me. Therefore, the actual Boxing Day should be the first weekday after Christmas, and always coincide with its holiday. Any preceeding weekend is simply a weekend. That's my twopennyworth, anyway. In response to those above confused about football/soccer, it is the latter to which the article refers. Here in the UK a full fixture programme is played, along with matches at New Year as well, making the Christmas period one of the busiest for soccer.

However, since we are not sure of the origins, we can't be sure what it's traditional date has been so we have to make this clear. In any case, I think we also need to make it abundantly clear that boxing day IS the 26th December now and has been for several decades at least. I have tried my best to do this 16:01, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

I'm Australian, the idea that Boxing Day was anything else than the 26th is one I hadn't previously been aware of. --Paul 14:06, 26 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but what is it all about?

This article says next to nothing about how the day is typically celebrated (or if it even is) and what generally is associated with the day. I see a lot about the origins and why it's called Boxing Day, but I'd really like to know how Boxing Day in the 21st century is handled. Thanks in advance! :) Girolamo Savonarola 03:04, 22 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Tsunami

I have removed the Tsunami from 'events that occur on Boxing day' as IMHO that title implies an event that commonly occurs on boxing day, NOT a historic event/disaster that occured on boxing day... Nil Einne 15:59, 25 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I agree - this is a lame ass wikipedia article since it doesn't really say what boxing day is except that it's a holiday. i think i'm gonna make some edits here...

Redundancy removed

RANT:It appears that someone or more then one person has added origin stories, either to the introduction or the main article without bothering to read the article and therefore failed to realise that origin stories were already included in the main article or the introduction and therefore we were left with 2 sets of origin stories.

Anyway, since the origin stories in the main article appeared more complete, I have completely removed the origin stories from the introduction and moved anything I felt necessary to the main article. The lines I removed were as below:

There is much dispute over the true origins of Boxing Day, but one common story of the holiday's origins is that servants and tradesmen received Christmas gifts from their employers on the first weekday after Christmas, the day after the family celebrations. These were generally called their "Christmas boxes." Another story is that this is the day that priests broke open the collection boxes and distributed the money to the poor. Another story is that Boxing Day is when all the Christmas decorations go back in their boxes to await next year's festivities.

Perhaps there is some merit to mentioning the origin story controversy in the introduction but I couldn't be bothered doing it. Rant again, we really wouldn't keep having these kinds of problems if people would actually briefly go through an article before being trigger happy and dumping stuff all over the place, it's not as if this is even a long article! Nil Einne 16:18, 25 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Marxist historians?

I question this article's impartiality with respect to "Marxist historians." Here is the offending paragraph, with emphasis added:

Marxist historians find evidence for "perpetuation of class difference" theory in what superficially seems to be Boxing Day's one direction of giving--i.e., from the rich lords to the poor croppers. They are right in observing that equality and respect are only found if there is a proper exchange of gifts. Looking only at quantifiable material value, they are right in finding inequality between the lords and peasants and justified in seeing reactionary and class-repressive origins for Boxing Day.

Does calling Marxist historians "right" in their interpretations make this article partial to that view? I don't see the conclusions as "right" at all. "Proper exchange of gifts"? What about exchanging a year's service for food, shelter, wages, and a year-end bonus? Maybe the flaw is in "looking only at quantifiable material value"; why confine your comparison so narrowly?

Canadian Boxing Day Sales

Correct me if I'm wrong but, atleast in Nova Scotia we can't have our store open on Boxing day because its a Holiday. So really our Boxing Day sales are on the 27th.

Why not in the US?

It would be nice to have some info as to why the day is not known or celebrated in the US. Since most of the examples of origin pre-date the US, it seems that the holiday would have carried over. The reference to the NA observence of Boxing Day including retail discounts in the US is a recent occurence, I beleive, and doesn't have anything to do with Boxing Day so much as it just being the day after Christmas.

Who?

If the "Great Jason Lawson Capitan" doesn't have his(?) own entry, can inclusion here really be justified?