Every year on December 26, our calendars on our phones and computers show that it is Boxing Day (Canada.) I’m not sure why it specifies Canada, because Boxing Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and a lot of other British Commonwealth countries like Australia, New Zealand as well as Canada.
The term is of British origin and first appeared in the 1800s — and — it has nothing to do with the sport of boxing. The exact roots for the name of the holiday are unknown but according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Boxing Day originated because servants, who would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, were allowed to visit their families the next day and employers would give them boxes to take home that contained gifts, bonuses and, sometimes, leftover food.
Another popular theory is that the Boxing Day moniker came from the alms boxes that were placed in churches during the Advent season for the collection of monetary donations from parishioners. Clergy members distributed the contents of the boxes to the poor on December 26, which is also the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr and a figure known for acts of charity. In fact the day is celebrated as St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland and parts of Spain.
The practice of almsgiving on December 26 has faded over the years and charity acts are now often made in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Maybe it’s a shame that Boxing Day doesn’t get much recognition here in the United States but it’s still a good day to stop and think about what Boxing Day was originally all about.
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