2007-12-26 22:45:07 · 7 answers · asked by nido 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
HA HA HA
I have seen several questions related to Boxing day over the past few days and laugh at the vain attempts of people who are not even British to answer them.
Boxing Day is a traditional celebration dating back to the Middle Ages, of which the primary practice is the giving of gifts to employees, the poor, or to people in a lower social class. The name has numerous folk etymologies, the Oxford English Dictionary attributes it to the Christmas box; the verb box meaning: "To give a Christmas-box (colloq.); hence the term boxing-day." Outside the Commonwealth, the holiday is sometimes called "St. Stephen's Day".
2007-12-26 23:02:31 · answer #1 · answered by Zappster (Deep Thunker) 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In ye days of olde on the day after Christmas people used to go out and visit fairs on the village green and the yokels were invited to try there luck in the fairground boxing ring against the fairground boxing champion with cash prizes for anyone who could put the champ on his back. Hence the name "boxing day"
2007-12-26 22:58:54 · answer #2 · answered by RAH RAH 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Used to be a Victorian thing when well to do people had servants. The servants would work Christmas day and the next day the servants would recieve their bonus for doing so. which might come in extra money, cloths, working tools, etc but all would be given in a box out of privacy so no one knew who was getting what.
2007-12-26 22:57:44 · answer #3 · answered by biffo 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I heard it was from early times when the well to do's used to put money in a collection box for the poor around Christmas time, during church services.....once the services were done the poor boxes were opened and the money distributed...hence boxing day...not sure how true that is though
2007-12-26 22:50:05 · answer #4 · answered by Knownow't 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In England the servants of the houses of richer families received their gifts the day after Christmas day. These gifts were presented to them in plain boxes. This day became known as Boxing day.
2007-12-26 22:49:21 · answer #5 · answered by Nexus6 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was the day the slaves used to be made to fight each other in Roman times as part of the pagan Saturnalia celebrations that the Catholic church disguised as Christmas.
2007-12-26 22:48:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Its where all the idiots come out at night and knock lumps out of each other.Well it was like that in my local last night!
2007-12-26 22:50:46 · answer #7 · answered by delete 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋