Boxing day and it's history

So when is Boxing Day? December 26th, is Boxing Day and is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other Commonwealth countries. Boxing Day originated in England in the middle of the nineteenth century under Queen Victoria. For years in which the holiday falls on a weekend, the celebration is moved to make sure workers still get a day off (except in Canada, where it remains Dec. 26) In the UK it's classed as a Bank Holiday

Boxing Day is spent with family and friends at open gatherings with lots of food, fun, friendship and love. Food on boxing day usually includes left over turkey from the day before. This can be eaten in sandwiches or as a meal with vegetables, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Some people like to have cold ham in a buffet style so the cook can also have a rest and spend time with the family.

Why Is Boxing Day Called Boxing Day?

Boxing Day is so called because it was the custom on that day for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good and reliable service throughout the year. Boxing Day is also St. Stephen's Day. St Stephen was a little known saint who achieved eternal fame by being the first Christian to be martyred for his faith by being stoned to death shortly after Christ's crucifixion. He's also named in the Christmas song Good King Wenceslas

"Good King Wenceslas Looked Out On The Feast Of Stephen"

The traditional celebration of Boxing Day included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs. The holiday may date from the Middle Ages (A.D. 400's--1500's), but the exact origin is unknown. It may have begun with the lords and ladies of England, who presented Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on December 26. Or it may have begun with priests, who opened the church's Alms (charity) boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents to the poor.

Boxing Day Traditions

Some say the tradition stems from Roman times when money to pay for athletic games was collected in boxes. Amongst the ruins of Pompeii, boxes made out of earthenware with slits in the top full of coins have been found. Later the Romans brought the idea of collecting boxes to Britain, and monks and clergy soon used similar boxes to collect money for the poor at Christmas. On the day after Christmas, the priests used to open the boxes and distribute the contents to the poor of the village. Thus this day came to be called Boxing 

The Wren Boys Of Ireland

In Ireland, Boxing Day is known as "St Stephen's Day" and is famous for its "Wren Boys". Tradition says that to kill a wren is unlucky unless it's on Boxing Day. St Stephen was killed, reportedly stoned to death, for believing in Jesus. In Ireland many years ago the Wren Boys would go out with blackened faces from burnt cork and would stone Wrens to death. They would then tie them to a pole decorated with holly and ribbons and carry their catch around the town knocking at doors and asking for money, food or a gift. In return for a donation the recipient received a feather from the Wren as a thank you.

Today this barbaric act has stopped and the Wren boys go around town in fancy dress (usually womens clothing) carrying a stuffed bird in a cage. Wren Boys sing carols and collect money that they give to charity.

Shopping And The Boxing Day Sales

While government buildings and small businesses are closed, the malls are filled with people either exchanging gifts or buying reduced priced Christmas gifts, cards, and decorations. Many children like to go and spend their gift vouchers that they received on Christmas Day.

Most shops and department stores have reduced opening times and usually operate a Sunday time period. In Britain opening times are 10-4pm but some retailers open really early, typically 5am and offer huge discounts and sale items to attract people instore. It's quite common to see long queues forming early in the morning or overnight as shoppers are eager to grab the bargains on offer.

Many stores have had to implement crowd control by limiting entrances and the number of shoppers instore at any one time. Some are now issuing tickets that guarantee them the hot product they have queued up to buy. Due to the popularity of the boxing day sales many stores are now running Boxing Weeks where bargains can be had in the days before and the days after Boxing day.

Britain's retail sector is celebrating a record-breaking year as official figures are projecting an all-time high for sales in 2015 with sales for the year expected to reach £354bn - a £60bn increase since 2010. In 2014 shoppers spent £3 billion in the Boxing Day Sales with online retailers having their biggest and busiest day with sales of £500 million. Onine shoppers spent an amazing £519,000 every minute which meant that high street shops were quieter than the year before.

Pre-Christmas sales are up by 5.2% compared with last year. Britain's retail successes have been credited in part to national promotional days like Black Friday and Panic Saturday.

Boxing Day Events

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day is classed as the Christmas Season with Boxing Day falling on the following Monday if December 26th falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Relaxing on Boxing Day is what the majority of people do but some people get out and take part in sporting events. Football matches and horse racing as well as shopping in the sales are some of the popular Boxing Day past times. Traditionally, matches on Boxing Day are played against local rivals. This ideas was to avoid teams and their supporters having to travel long distances to away games the day after Christmas Day. The Boxing Day match is also a very popular event in the sporting calendar.

Traditionally fox hunting was a sport for the upper classes. Dressed in red and with a pack of dogs no fox was safe on this day. Fox hunting is now banned in the UK but the tradition still goes on illegally, although certain modified forms of hunting foxes with hounds are still within the law,.

The Boxing Day Traditional Dip

The Boxing Day Dip is a charity event where people in fancy dress swim in the sea on Boxing Day. There are several such dips held around Europe, but the largest is organised by the Lions Club of Sunderland, England. The dip takes place at Seaburn beach in Sunderland. This very popular event regularly attracts over 1,000 brave souls and over 5,000 spectators. They raised around £54,000 in 2014. Participants are expected to wear fancy dress and jump into the North Sea. The oldest dip is the Tenby Boxing Day Swim in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which started in 1970. A roaring bonfire meets the swimmers coming out of the sea and all participants receive a medal for bravery.

Watch Lori give a light hearted roundup of Boxing Day for Canadians.

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