A Canadian Explains Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated on December 26th across Britain and the Commonwealth countries. While the origins of the holiday aren't about one-day-only-sales!!!! Boxing Day is now considered the Commonwealth equivalent of America’s Black Friday, with retailers slashing prices and trying to move old stock.

The Origins of Boxing Day

The origins of Boxing Day are elusive, and theories abound.

Saint Stephen Theory

• It is commonly assumed that the charitable origins of the day have their roots in the Christian festival of Saint Stephen’s Day, which is also celebrated on December 26.
• Saint Stephen, an early deacon of the church, was renowned for his work with the poor, and his generosity in the distribution of alms. He was killed in A.D 36 and is considered to be Christianity’s first martyr.
• The term “boxing” is believed to be associated with the donation boxes that were put up in early Christian churches. The day after Christmas, the donations collected in the boxes were given to the poor.

16th Century Tips Theory

• Another theory locates the practice in the 16th century when poor or working-class Britons would roam the streets and towns asking for tips from the people they had served or helped during the course of the year.

Victorian Thanks For Your Work Theory

• The most renowned theory is that Boxing Day originated rather recently, in Victorian England, when the rich would give their servants a day off as thanks for sacrificing their own Christmas to serve the family of their employers. They would often send the servants home with small tokens of appreciation and leftover food. 
• In the 18th century, Boxing Day became associated with aristocratic sports like fox hunting, shooting, and horse racing.
• In the 19th century, as the working class demographic grew in Britain’s industrial cities, Boxing Day became associated with popular sports like professional football and rugby.

Modern Incarnation

• Boxing Day became an official bank holiday in 1871.
• Boxing Day has become a sports lover's day, with cricket, rugby, football, and horse races packing the calendar.
• Boxing Day is associated with shopping and discounts in its modern incarnation. This evolution of the day’s meaning began in the 1990s when Britain’s prime minister, John Major, amended Sunday trading laws and encouraged commerce on the day. (Buying and selling on Sunday had previously been illegal, with exceptions, under the Shops Act 1950.)
• In Commonwealth countries like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, it is common for people to spend the day lining up at shops to get massive discounts on consumer goods and services.

Should Americans celebrate Boxing Day? Which theory about the holiday's origins do you think rings true?

—Emma Kansiz