Let’s Box Up Some Facts, Shall We?

What the hell is Boxing Day, really? Besides being a day off for some and having certain businesses closed, I’ve never really been clear on what it is or why it’s called “Boxing Day.” So I figured, with it being the holidays and the fact I tend to rant on enough topics throughout the rest of the year, I should look into this. As it usually the case when one tries to find something on the internet without knowing which way to go, I may or may not have been taken down the rabbit hole and got a number of different backgrounds. Let’s look at a few…

For the most part, offices and professional businesses are closed on Boxing Day. In Canada, it’s designated as a holiday and most things, as I mentioned, are closed. According to an article I found posted on a site called The Almanac, “the custom arose because servants, who would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, were allowed to visit their families the next day and employers would give them boxes to take home containing gifts, bonuses and, sometimes, leftover food.” The article goes on to explain that some of the earliest mentions of this tradition dates somewhere in the mid to late 1600’s. Other sources stated that it became more of a mainstream holiday in the 1800’s when Queen Victoria held the throne.

The prevailing backstory seems to include providing boxes of gifts from the wealthy to the poor, in some way shape or form. I’ll admit that the majority of this originates from British sources but Canada is part of the Commonwealth anyway, so it can’t be all wrong, right? in some countries, it’s considered as a “second day of Christmas” and is associated with the Feast of St. Stephen, who was said to be the first Christian martyr. In Canada, Boxing Day is a federal statutory holiday and most banks and government offices are closed, which is why I have the day off today and they always ensure the day off occurs on a work day.

Not the most stimulating of posts but just something that had me curious. Hope y’all had a wonderful Christmas Day! ☯️