Boxing Day

July 8, 2008 · Traditions  ·

Many people think the tradition of Boxing Day started in the Middle Ages, but there are so many different stories about the meaning of Boxing Day, it’s hard to be certain which tradition came first. Although opinions vary about when the Boxing Day tradition started and why, it is agreed that the date to celebrate Boxing Day is December 26.

In the Middle Ages the lord of a manor gave practical gifts like cloth to his serfs (the people who farmed his fields) on the day after Christmas. It’s believed the gifts were put into a box for delivery, and so the day got the nickname of Boxing Day.
In artisan’s and tradesmen’s shops, they traditionally kept what we’d call a “tip box” where extra coins were placed and customers, clients and the shop’s master could put coins when a job was especially well done. On December 26 the box was opened (sometimes even smashed) and the coins inside were split among all the workers as a reward for good work.
Boxing Day was first recognized officially by Queen Victoria of Great Britain and soon was a recognized holiday throughout most of the English-speaking world.

In churches, the twenty-sixth of December is traditionally the day that the priests or pastors take the contents of the poor box (where people make donations for the poor throughout the year) and distribute the money inside it to poor families living in their region. It is the connection with the church that also gives Boxing Day its other traditional name, the “Feast of St. Stephen.” St. Stephen was one of the first deacons of the Christian Church and he was assigned the job of taking care of the poor and widows, so it only makes sense that the poor box, or alms box, is distributed on his feast day.

Boxing Day is also the day that a wealthy master of a house would give his servants the day off and have the food leftover from the Christmas Day feast boxed up to send home with his servants or household staff members.

In some places Boxing Day signaled a day when people packed up their old toys and gifts and set them out on the curb in boxes so there was room for all the new gifts they had gotten at Christmas. Other people walking down the street could then come out and take the things they wanted or could use. It was like recycling gifts!

You can start your own family’s Boxing Day tradition after opening up your Christmas gifts and deciding what old toys, clothes and books you no longer need because of the new gifts you received. Box up your old, unwanted things and have a parent help you take them to a donation center where someone else can get them, use them and enjoy them! While Christmas is a great time to be thankful for what we have, Boxing Day is a great day to give away things someone else can be thankful for later!