Why December 26 is celebrated as 'Boxing Day' in Commonwealth nations
In the UK, Boxing Day is a bank holiday.
By ET Bureau |
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The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. Here’s how the name came about
1. The day after Christmas is hard, the festive season is over, and it’s back to the office for most. However, December 26 also holds special meaning, especially in Britain and other Commonwealth countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
2. Traditionally called Boxing Day, the term is of British origin, and the Oxford English Dictionary traces its earliest print attribution to 1833, four years before Charles Dickens referred to it in The Pickwick Papers.
3. One idea is that December 26 was the day centuries ago when lords of the manor and aristocrats typically distributed Christmas boxes often filled with small gifts, money and leftovers from Christmas dinner to their household servants and employees.
4. Another popular theory is that the Boxing Day moniker arose from the alm boxes that were placed in churches during the Advent season for the collection of monetary donations from parishioners.
6. In the UK, Boxing Day is a bank holiday. When December 26 falls on a Saturday, the Boxing Day public holiday is moved to the substitute day, which is the following Monday.
7. In many parts of the world, Boxing Day is also a shopping holiday, much like Black Friday. It is a time when shops hold sales, often with dramatic price reductions.
8. It’s is also an important day in the world of sports. In the UK, it is traditional for all top-tier football leagues to hold football and rugby union matches on Boxing Day. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Test cricket matches are played on this day.
1. The day after Christmas is hard, the festive season is over, and it’s back to the office for most. However, December 26 also holds special meaning, especially in Britain and other Commonwealth countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
2. Traditionally called Boxing Day, the term is of British origin, and the Oxford English Dictionary traces its earliest print attribution to 1833, four years before Charles Dickens referred to it in The Pickwick Papers.
3. One idea is that December 26 was the day centuries ago when lords of the manor and aristocrats typically distributed Christmas boxes often filled with small gifts, money and leftovers from Christmas dinner to their household servants and employees.
4. Another popular theory is that the Boxing Day moniker arose from the alm boxes that were placed in churches during the Advent season for the collection of monetary donations from parishioners.
It’s no surprise that the most expensive tree in the world was put on display in the land of excess — the UAE. The Emirates Palace hotel, the luxury Abu Dhabi hotel, in 2010, unveiled what is thought to be the world’s most expensive Christmas tree, valued at more than $11 million. The 13-metre fake evergreen tree, located in the hotel’s lobby, was decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights. However, clearly not satisfi ed with just that, the hotel also hoisted watches, necklaces and solid gold bracelets. In hindsight, for a hotel that provides automatic machines to sell gold bars and the use of a private jet, a $11.4 million Christmas tree is no big deal.
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5. In South Africa, as recently as the 1980s, milkmen and garbage collectors, who normally had little if any interaction with those they served, were accustomed to knock on doors asking for a ‘Christmas box’, which was a small cash donation.6. In the UK, Boxing Day is a bank holiday. When December 26 falls on a Saturday, the Boxing Day public holiday is moved to the substitute day, which is the following Monday.
7. In many parts of the world, Boxing Day is also a shopping holiday, much like Black Friday. It is a time when shops hold sales, often with dramatic price reductions.
8. It’s is also an important day in the world of sports. In the UK, it is traditional for all top-tier football leagues to hold football and rugby union matches on Boxing Day. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Test cricket matches are played on this day.
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