Happy Boxing Day
Today, 26 December, is Boxing Day. It’s a holiday in some countries. Not in Malaysia, though.
BTW, it’s not what you think it is, so don’t go around boxing people, okay?
Well, I thought I knew the meaning of Boxing Day - something to do with the boxes that Christmas presents come in (honestly, I thought that) - but I was only partly right. I was right about the boxes, but that was all I was right about.
I googled for more information, and found two meanings:
First meaning of Boxing Day:
| Boxing Day
The day after Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is better known as Boxing Day. The term may come from the opening of church poor boxes that day; maybe from the earthenware boxes with which boy apprentices collected money at the doors of their masters’ clients. Nowadays, we often see, in certain families, gifts (boxes) given to those who provide services throughout the year. “Boxing Day” is listed in the Canada Labour Code as a holiday. Source: Canadian Heritage: Boxing Day |
Second meaning of Boxing Day:
| Boxing Day is so called because on this day it was the customary for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good service throughout the year. Also, it included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, and the needy.
The holiday may date from as early as the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is not known. It may have begun with the Lords and Ladies of England, who gave there Christmas boxes/gifts to their servants on December 26, or maybe by priests, who opened the church’s alms (charity boxes), and distributed the contents to the poor and needy. Source: Elaine’s Boxing Day Page |
