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| Boxing Day | |
|---|---|
 Boxing Day crowds shopping atToronto Eaton Centre | |
| Also called | Offering Day[1] |
| Observed by | Commonwealth nations |
| Type | Bank holiday,public holiday |
| Date | 26 December |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to |
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Boxing Day, also known asOffering Day is aholiday celebrated afterChristmas Day, occurring on thesecond day ofChristmastide (26 December).[1] Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in severalCommonwealth nations. The attachedbank holiday orpublic holiday may take place on 27 or 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festivalSaint Stephen's Day.
In parts of Europe, such as eastSpain, (Catalonia,Valencia and theBalearic Islands[2][3]), theCzech Republic,Germany,Austria,Hungary, theNetherlands,Italy,Poland,Slovakia,[4]Slovenia,Croatia,Denmark,Finland,Romania,Sweden,Belgium,Norway,Latvia andIreland, 26 December is Saint Stephen's Day, which is considered the second day of Christmas.[5]
There are competing theories for the origins of the term, none of which is definitive.[6]
The European tradition of giving money and other gifts to those in need, or in service positions, has been dated to theMiddle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown; it may refer to thealms box placed in thenarthex of Christian churches to collect donations for the poor. The tradition may come from a custom in the lateRoman andearly Christian era, wherein alms boxes placed in churches were used to collect special offerings tied to theFeast of Saint Stephen,[7] which, in theWestern Christian Churches, falls on the same day as Boxing Day, the second day ofChristmastide. On this day, it is customary in some localities for the alms boxes to be opened and distributed to the poor.[1][8]
TheOxford English Dictionary gives the earliest attestation from Britain in 1743, defining it as "the day after Christmas day", and saying "traditionally on this day tradespeople, employees, etc., would receive presents or gratuities (a "Christmas box") from their customers or employers."[9]
The term "Christmas box"[10] dates back to the 17th century, and among other things meant:
A present or gratuity given at Christmas: In Great Britain, usually confined to gratuities given to those who are supposed to have a vague claim upon the donor for services rendered to him as one of the general public by whom they are employed and paid, or as a customer of their legal employer; the undefined theory being that as they have done offices for this person, for which he has not directly paid them, some direct acknowledgement is becoming at Christmas.
In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year.[11] This is mentioned inSamuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663.[12] This custom is linked to an older British tradition in which the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families since they would have had to serve their masters on Christmas Day. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. Until the late 20th century, there continued to be a tradition among many in the UK to give aChristmas gift, usually cash, to vendors, although not on Boxing Day, as many would not work on that day.[13]
Saint Stephen's Day, areligious holiday, also falls on 26 December.[14][15]
In the United Kingdom, Boxing Day could not fall on Sunday 26 December. Instead, Boxing Day would be celebrated on Monday 27 December, with the preceding Sunday called Christmas Sunday. This rule was independent of the rule of bank holidays being taken in lieu. Over time Sunday 26 December increasingly became referred to as Boxing Day.
Unlike the contemporary understanding of Boxing Day itself, the associatedbank holiday orpublic holiday always falls on a weekday. When 25 December falls on a Saturday and 26 December falls on a Sunday, the Christmas Day substitute holiday is observed on Monday 27 December, with the Boxing Day substitute holiday observed on Tuesday 28 December. When Christmas Day is a Sunday, the Boxing Day holiday is still observed on Monday 26 December, with the substitute holiday for Christmas Day observed on Tuesday 27 December.[16]
The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which regulates UK bank holidays, does not officially name the 26 December bank holiday as Boxing Day, but states that it falls on "26th December, if it be not a Sunday."[17]
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In the United Kingdom,[41] Canada,[42] Australia,[43] New Zealand,[44] and Trinidad and Tobago, Boxing Day is a popular shopping holiday. Boxing Day sales are common, and shops often allow dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue. In the UK, it was estimated in 2009 that up to 12 million shoppers appeared at the sales (a rise of almost 20% compared to 2008, although this was also affected by the fact that theVAT was about to revert to 17.5% from 1 January, following the temporary reduction to 15%).[45]
Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offerdoorbuster deals andloss leaders to draw people to their stores. It is not uncommon for long queues to form early in the morning of 26 December, hours before the opening of shops holding the big sales, especially atbig-box consumer electronics retailers.[42] Many stores have a limited quantity of big draw or deeply discounted items.[46] Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay at home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. Local media often covers the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began queuing up and showing videos of shoppers queuing and later leaving with their purchased items.[47] Many retailers have implemented practices aimed at managing large numbers of shoppers. They may limit entrances, restrict the number of patrons in a store at a time, provide tickets to people at the head of the queue to guarantee them a hot ticket item, or canvass queued-up shoppers to inform them of inventory limitations.[46]
In some areas of Canada, particularly inAtlantic Canada and parts ofNorthern Ontario, most retailers are prohibited from opening on Boxing Day, either by provincial law or by municipalbylaw, or by informal agreement among major retailers, to provide a day of relaxation following Christmas Day. In these areas, sales otherwise scheduled for 26 December are moved to the 27th.[48][49] The city council ofGreater Sudbury, Ontario, which was the largest city in Canada to maintain this restriction as of the early 2010s, formally repealed its store hours bylaw on 9 December 2014.[50]
While Boxing Day is 26 December, many retailers run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year's Eve, branding it as "Boxing Week". Notably, inthe recession of late 2008, a record number of retailers held early promotions because of the weak economy.[51] In 2009, many retailers with both online andHigh Street stores launched their online sales on Christmas Eve and their High Street sales on Boxing Day.[52][53]
In terms of seasonal or holiday shopping traditions, Boxing Day sales have been compared to the US phenomenon ofBlack Friday sales – Black Friday being the Friday following the AmericanThanksgiving holiday in late November. In the late 2000s, when theCanadian andUnited States dollars were near parity, many Canadian retailers began to hold Black Friday promotions in an effort to discourage shoppers from crossing theborder to visit United States stores. This may have been a contributory factor, since 2013, in a relative decline of traditional Canadian Boxing Day sales, when compared to sales on Black Friday.[54]
The traditional Boxing Day sales in the United Kingdom were never as large an event as the Black Friday sales are in the United States. However, many British retailers began to see an opportunity to import the Black Friday tradition into the UK, not to replace Boxing Day sales, but as an addition to their overall seasonal promotions. However, Black Friday and Boxing Day are close enough together that spending on one sale was likely to affect spending on the other. Ultimately, the result was a marked decline in traditional Boxing Day sales in the UK. The change was initially facilitated, although not necessarily by design, by U.S.-owned retailers such asAmazon, andAsda (then a subsidiary of US-basedWalmart). This phenomenon was furthered by a general decline in traditional high-street shopping and a growing online marketplace, which is more international by nature. This led, in 2015, to greater November retail sales in the UK than in December for the first time.[55][56] In 2019, a retail analysis firm estimated that there was a 9.8% drop in British store traffic on Boxing Day in comparison to 2018 (the largest year-over-year drop since 2010), citing several factors, such as the weather, the increased prominence ofonline shopping, uncertainties in the wake of thegeneral election, and the growing prominence of Black Friday sales.[57]
Boxing Day sales are not a prominent tradition in the United States, although many retailers often begin after-Christmas sales that day. It is typically the earliest starting day after Christmas for people to return unwanted gifts for exchanges or refunds and to redeemgift cards.[58]
In the United Kingdom, it is traditional for theHome Nations' majorfootball leagues (including, most prominently, thePremier League,Scottish Premiership, andNIFL Premiership) to hold a full programme of fixtures on Boxing Day. Originally, matches on Boxing Day were played againstlocal rivals so that teams and their fans would not have to travel long distances to away games on the day after Christmas. The 2022Premier League Boxing Day fixtures saw the return of domestic top flight football for the2022–23 Premier League season, following the six-week break for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[59]
In Italy, Boxing Day football was played for the first time in the2018–19 Serie A season. The experiment was successful, with Italian stadiums 69% full on average – more than any other match day in December 2018.[60]
Inrugby league, festive fixtures were a staple of the traditional winter season. Since the transition to a summer season in the 1990s, no formal fixtures are now arranged on Boxing Day but some clubs, such asWakefield Trinity, arrange a traditionallocal derby friendly fixture instead.
Since 1980, theAustralian cricket team has traditionally opened one of thetest matches of its summer seasonon Boxing Day at theMelbourne Cricket Ground. While several test matches had occasionally been held at the MCG around Boxing Day, it was not until 1980 that the concept was formalized by theAustralian Cricket Board.[61] TheSydney to Hobart Yacht Race is also traditionally held on Boxing Day.[62]
In horse racing, there is theKing George VI Chase atKempton Park Racecourse in Surrey, England. It is the second most prestigiouschase in Britain, after theCheltenham Gold Cup. In addition to the prestigious race at Kempton, in Britain, it is usually the day with the most racing meetings of the year, with eight in 2016, in addition to three more in Ireland.[63] In Barbados, the final day of horse racing is held on Boxing Day at The Historic Garrison Savannah, a UNESCO world heritage site. This tradition has been going on for decades in this former British colony.
Boxing Day is one of the main days in the hunting calendar forhunts in the UK and US, with most hunts (both mounted foxhound or harrier packs and foot packs of beagles or bassets) holding meets, often in town or village centres.[64]
Severalice hockey contests are associated with the day. TheIIHF World Junior Championship typically begins on 26 December, while theSpengler Cup also begins on 23 December inDavos, Switzerland; the Spengler Cup competition includesHC Davos,Team Canada, and other top European hockey teams. TheNational Hockey League traditionally had close to a full slate of games (10 were played in 2011[65]), following the league-wide days off given for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, the 2013 collective bargaining agreement (which followeda lock-out) extended the league mandate of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off to include Boxing Day, except when it falls on a Saturday, in which case the league can choose to make 23 December a league-wide off day instead for that year.[66] In Sweden, the related sport ofbandy is also associated with the day, withSaint Stephen's Day bandy games having become an established tradition.[67]
In some AfricanCommonwealth nations, particularly Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania,professional boxing contests are held on Boxing Day. This practice has also been followed for decades in Guyana and Italy.[68]
In the UK it is common to eat leftovers from the previous day'sChristmas dinner, with turkey often being used in a Boxing Day sandwich or curry.[69][70]
The2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred on 26 December and thus has been referred to as "the Boxing Day Tsunami".[71]
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South Africa portalSt. Stephen's Day or Boxing Day: Boxing Day, or Offering Day as it is sometimes called, derives its name from the ancient practice of giving boxes of money at the midwinter holiday season to all those who had given good service throughout the year. Boxing Day, December 26, was the day the boxes were opened. Later, it was the day on which the alms boxes, located in the churches on Christmas Day, were opened and the contents given to the poor.
Yet another legend is that Boxing Day started the tradition of opening the alms boxes placed in churches during the Christmas season. The contents of the alms boxes were then distributed amongst the poor of the parish.
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