So why is the 26th of December called boxing day?
2006-12-26 20:46:26 · 15 answers · asked by Rhys D 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas 'box' to those who have 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, 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
2006-12-26 20:49:39 · answer #1 · answered by C J 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The reason the 26th of December is known as boxing day is because, it is the day when employees used to receive their "Christmas Boxes" (Bonuses) Some folk still use the term christmas box today in reference to the gesture, however over the years it has become an old fashioned term and therefore it is no longer commonly used.
2006-12-27 04:51:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The day after Christmas was when the servants of Olde England would get the day off and celebrate the holiday. It often included "boxed up presents" that the masters of the house didn't want, and left over food from the Christmas feast.
2006-12-27 04:48:10 · answer #3 · answered by opheliaissaved 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
it goes back to the times of servants in the house the day after christmas the family would box up presents for the servants and serve the servants at the servants dinner ect i dont know if many familys would realy serve the servants but that is where the term boxing day comes from.
2006-12-27 04:59:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The holiday is rooted in a British tradition of giving small gifts of money on Dec. 26
Boxing Day is said to stem from a church tradition that dates to the Middle Ages, when English priests opened the alms boxes and handed out the money inside to the poor. It took place on Dec. 26 because that was St. Stephen's Day. His role in the church was to ensure that aid was distributed to elderly people
2006-12-27 04:49:59 · answer #5 · answered by DeeDee 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's because it's when the families have a boxing match to sort out all their problems from the day before :P
to be honest - I've always wondered the same thing too..
2006-12-27 05:22:05 · answer #6 · answered by annyka 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I heard that it's because in England the day after xmas all the slaves were given boxes of things for their xmas present. So naturally they named it Boxing Day!
2006-12-27 04:49:31 · answer #7 · answered by janetots 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is also known as St Stephen's Day, who was a little known saint. It is called boxing day because it used to be where tradesmen collected their gifts
Hope this helps
I have also found a website that explains this answer
2006-12-27 07:25:29 · answer #8 · answered by Lucy 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This refers to the alms boxes, which the churches traditionally opened on this day, to distribute the money collected to the poor.
2006-12-27 08:38:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
WE WERE ALL WONDERING THE SAME THING, THE ONLY THING WE COULD THINK OF WAS, GETTING RID OF ALL THE BOXES FROM THE DAY BEFORE.
2006-12-27 05:03:12 · answer #10 · answered by aunty m 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋