As December 25th draws to an end, many of us have another day to recover from all that Christmas excitement: Boxing Day.
Why do I have the day off on Boxing Day?
If you live in the UK, you have the 1871 Bank Holidays Act to thank for having Boxing Day off. It was only after 1871 that the 26th December (or if you’re being all correct about it, the closest day after Christmas that wasn’t a weekend day) was announced a Bank Holiday. We largely have Liberal MP Sir John Lubbock to thank for giving us Bank Holidays like Boxing day, as it was he who campaigned for the rights of shop workers and was a driving force behind the passing of the Act.
But where does the idea of taking the day off come from?
There are several theories about this.
We take the day after Christmas off because it’s St Stephen’s day, a lesser known name for Boxing day.
This is the Feast of Stephen we refer to in the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” that goes:
‘Good King Wenceslas looked out,
On the Feast of Stephen.,,’
St Stephen was the first Christian martyr. He was also the first Deacon in the Church, and because one of the main roles of a Church Deacon is to look after the poor, St. Stephen’s Day is often considered a day for giving food, money, and other items to servants, sevice workers, and the needy.
St Stephen’s message of helping the poor also reveals why we call his day Boxing Day. The boxes it refers to are almsboxes used to collect money for the poor. Christians carried out St Stephen’s message by collecting money in a number of different ways including a special collection day on Christmas Day. Sailors would drop money into a box throughout their voyage, as a donation to God to ensure their safe journey. Once safely back on land, the money would be donated to the Church.
Since early Christianity, still during Roman times, the day after Christmas was the day that Churches gave all the money they’d collected in almsboxes to the needy. The opening of the almsboxes is one of the strongest theories behind why we call St Stephen’s day, Boxing Day.
In a similar spirit, employers often gave servants December 26th off to spend the day with their families. The theory goes that employers would give their servants a box of bonuses, or gifts, and sometimes leftover Christmas food. In Victorian times, tradesmen too profited from Boxing day as a day when they collected their Christmas boxes and gifts from happy clients, giving thanks for their good service throughout the year.
Today, many of us don’t realise the significance of Boxing Day, and instead it’s become a day of sales and shopping for ourselves rather than a day of giving…
But perhaps this is the shops’ way of giving to their faithful customers. So maybe it *is* in the spirit of giving in a strange way!
The spirit of giving that St Stephen would have been proud of is often transmuted onto Christmas which is associated with giving to the needy, and giving Christmas bonuses to faithful employees.
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Why do I celebrate Christmas on December 25th?
Why do we eat Turkey at Christmas?
Why do we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve?
Why do we have the New Years Kiss tradition?
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