Boxing Day
By Traci Mar
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain and Commonwealth countries. This holiday dates back to Feudal times, when the lord of an estate would give all his serfs a box full of practical gifts, such as plows, grain, cloth and tools. For British servants, Boxing Day was the day that they would open their gifts (in boxes) because they would have had to work the day before. They had a custom where they would bring boxes to the door of their employer in hopes that the employer would drop a coin or two in the box. This was the equivalent to a Christmas bonus. Another tradition on Boxing Day was for churches to break open their Christmas donation boxes and distribute the contents among the poorer citizens.
Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th. It’s a public holiday and stores traditionally sell their Christmas merchandise at significantly lowered prices. If they can’t get rid of everything within that one day, retailers extend it into a Boxing Week. In the UK, they celebrate by playing football and attending horse races. In Australia they have a cricket testing match and in Northern Ireland, all the major soccer-football teams play each other. In Canada, there’s a huge shopping rush similar to our Black Friday. Also family dinners are an important part of the day. Boxing Day dinner is just as important as Christmas dinner.
