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Boxing Day

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Boxing Day
Queue for Boxing Day sale outside large store. Photo taken at 6:00 AM.
Observed byCommonwealth of Nations
TypeInternational, Commonwealth countries
DateDecember 26
Related toSt. Stephen's Day

Boxing Day is a public holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom and most other Commonwealth countries on December 26, the day after Christmas Day;[1][2] or alternatively on the next weekday after Christmas.

Origins

There are disparate theories as to the origins of the term. The more common stories include:

  • It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas box to those who had worked for them throughout the year. This is still done in Britain for postmen and paper-boys - though now the 'box' is usually given before Christmas, not after.
  • In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which made it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on 26 December, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obliged to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day.
  • In England many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.
  • In churches, it was traditional to open the church's donation box on Christmas Day, and the money in the donation box was to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that lockbox in which the donations were left.
  • Boxing Day was the day when the wren, the king of birds,[3] was captured and put in a box and introduced to each household in the village when he would be asked for a successful year and a good harvest. See Frazer's Golden Bough.
    • Evidence can also be found in Wassail songs such as:
Where are you going ? said Milder to Malder,
Oh where are you going ? said Fessel to Foe,
I'm going to hunt the cutty wren said Milder to Malder,
I'm going to hunt the cutty wren said John the Rednose.
And what will you do wi' it ? said Milder to Malder,
And what will you do wi' it ? said Fessel to Foe,
I'll put it in a box said Milder to Malder,
I'll put it in a box said John the Rednose.
etc...
  • Because the staff had to work on such an important day as Christmas by serving the master of the house and their family, they were given the following day off. As servants were kept away from their own families to work on a traditional religious holiday and were not able to celebrate Christmas Dinner, the customary benefit was to "box" up the leftover food from Christmas Day and send it away with the servants and their families. (Similarly, as the servants had the 26th off, the owners of the manor may have had to serve themselves pre-prepared, boxed food for that one day.) Hence the "boxing" of food became "Boxing Day".

Date

In common usage, 26 December is continually referred to as Boxing Day no matter what the particular day that it occurs on. [4]If it falls on a Sunday then in countries where it is a Bank Holiday the Statutory Holiday is moved to the Monday to ensure a day without work.[5][6][7] As Christmas Day would therefore be a Saturday, Tuesday 28 December is also declared as a holiday in lieu.

In some Commonwealth countries, fixed-date holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday are often observed on the next weekday, so if Boxing Day falls on a Saturday then Monday 28 December is a public holiday; in the UK and other countries this is accomplished by Royal Proclamation.

If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday itself then the Boxing Day holiday is automatically on the following Monday, and no Royal Proclamation is required. In such a circumstance, a 'substitute bank holiday in lieu of Christmas Day' is declared for Tuesday 27 December, this being the next available working day - thus the Boxing Day holiday occurs before the substitute Christmas holiday.

Although the same legislation (Bank Holidays Act 1871) originally established the Bank Holidays throughout the British Isles, the holiday after Christmas was defined as Boxing Day in England and Wales and St Stephen's Day for Ireland. St Stephen's Day is fixed as the 26 December.[8]

Observance by Country

United Kingdom

Boxing Day in the UK is a day when stores sell their excess Christmas inventory at significantly reduced prices. Boxing Day has become so important for retailers that they often extend it into a "Boxing Week". But recently there have been concerns about retailers over-pricing goods before Christmas day for making 'boxing day' sales seem more impressive

Sports

Boxing Day in the UK is traditionally a day for sporting activity, originally fox hunting, but in modern times football and horse racing.

Events:

  • English and Scottish Football matches
  • Boxing Day Dip - in certain UK coastal towns (including Whitby and Tenby), people wade into the sea on boxing day - often in fancy dress, and usually to raise money for a local charity.
  • Football Matches played in Northern Ireland

Wales

St. Stephen's Holiday in Wales is known as Gŵyl San Steffan. Ancient Welsh custom, discontinued in the 19th century, included bleeding of livestock and "holming" (beating or slashing with holly branches) of late risers and female servants.[9]

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, all Premier League clubs in football play their biggest rivals, unless Boxing Day falls on a Sunday, in which case the matches take place on the 27th. The most popular one is Glentoran v. Linfield, between the two biggest clubs in the league.

European countries

Boxing Day is a holiday of peculiarly British origin, but in most years it falls on the same day as the Feast of St. Stephen (St. Stephen's Day - 26th December).

In Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden, the 26th is known as the Second day of Christmas: Stefanitag in Austria, der zweite Weihnachtsfeiertag in Germany; Δεύτερη μέρα των Χριστουγέννων in Greece; Annandag Jul in Sweden; Anden Juledag in Denmark; Antroji Kalėdų diena in Lithuania; Andre Juledag in Norway; Tweede Kerstdag in Belgium and in the Netherlands; Annar dagur jóla in Iceland; Tapaninpäivä (St. Stephen's Day) in Finland; Karácsony másnapja in Hungary. In some of these countries it is also a public holiday. This day is also known in Spain as San Esteban, and in Italy as Santo Stefano.

Ireland

In Ireland, the 26th December is known as St Stephen's Day, or Wren's Day. A practice known as Hunt the Wren is still practiced by some in the Isle of Man, where people thrash out wrens from hedgerows. Traditionally they were killed and their feathers presented to households for good luck. In Ireland, children used to kill a wren, then take its body from door-to-door, begging for money which they would use (supposedly) to pay for the bird's funeral.

Germany

In Germany the days between Christmas and New Year are called "the days between the years" (zwischen den Jahren) and are becoming more and more important for retailers to clear unsold Christmas goods.

Canada

In Canada, Boxing Day is observed as a holiday, except (in some cases) for those in the retail business. Boxing Day and the days immediately following are when many retail stores sell their Christmas and retired model products by holding clearance sales. Some shoppers will line up for hours at night (sometimes before midnight and after midnight on December 26) for retailers to open their doors. Retailers often open their stores earlier than usual, such as 6 or 7 am. Some retail companies internally refer to the sales week after Christmas as the "thirteenth month." (See Boxing Week.) It is similar to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, in the United States. Boxing Day 2005 was the single largest economic transaction day ever in the history of Canadian commerce (according to Visa). Individual big box stores can even gross over CAD$1,000,000 on one single Boxing Day.

Contrary to popular belief in central and western Canada, sales on Boxing Day itself are not nationwide. Most retail stores are not permitted to open on Boxing Day in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador. Sales are deferred to the following day. In 2006, Nova Scotia eliminated a similar ban on Boxing Day openings, although most retailers elected to continue past practice and remain closed that day.

In addition to the retail aspect of the holiday, Boxing Day also serves as a second day for families to gather for dinner and to exchange gifts. Boxing Day dinner is, in many ways, just as much a part of many families traditions as Christmas dinner itself. [citation needed]

Boxing Day has also been referred to as the day that people "box" up their Christmas decorations and put them away until next year.

Sports

From a sporting perspective, Boxing Day in Canada has many implications. It is usually on Boxing Day when the IIHF begins the World Junior Hockey Championship. This is a significant event for Canada and Hockey Canada which have done extremely well at this particular international event. Boxing Day is also the start of another international hockey tournament: The Spengler Cup. This tournament, usually played in Davos, Switzerland, along with the World Juniors, are aired on the two big sports networks in Canada (TSN and Rogers Sportsnet).

Australia & New Zealand

In a similar vein to the United Kingdom (see above), shopping occurs similarly in Australia and New Zealand, although some Australian states, including New South Wales are tightening restrictions on Boxing Day retail trading[4], deferring the post-Christmas sales to December 27.

Boxing Day is not observed in the Australian state of South Australia, because December 26 is Proclamation Day.

Sports

In Australia, Boxing Day has become a significant sporting day (similar to ANZAC Day celebrations). In Melbourne the Boxing Day Test Match is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, often before the largest single day crowd of the Australian cricket season. In Sydney, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race typically starts on this day.

Events:

South Africa

In South Africa, Boxing Day is now known as Day of Good Will.

Sports

Events:

International

Other international and notable events are held in other countries or regions:

Trivia

  • Boxing Day was the subject of a song written by the novelty band The Holiday Hipsters.

References

  1. ^ American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition - 'Boxing Day'
  2. ^ Oxford English
  3. ^ A popular medieval tradition, as illustrated by Grimm's Fairy Tales No. 171[1]
  4. ^ BBC Radio 4 schedule, December 26, 2004
  5. ^ Bank Holidays Act 1871 (UK and Republic of Ireland)
  6. ^ Banks and Bank Holidays Act (NSW) 1912 - Fourth Schedule
  7. ^ Holidays Act (Qld) 1983
  8. ^ DTI information on Bank and public holidays in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Note that a 'substitute Bank Holiday in lieu of 26th December' is only possible in Northern Ireland, reflecting the legal difference in that St. Stephen's Day does not automatically shift to the Monday in the same way as Boxing Day.
  9. ^ Welsh Customs and Traditions, Brittania.com [2]; see also archived version from 1997 [3]

See also

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