The Day after Christmas holiday is almost here. Have you set up your Christmas boxes for the needy while piling up the shopping list? And when is boxing day anyway? December 26th is here to kick the wait for such a charitable occasion right after X-mas day.
Our latest upload on 12 Days of Christmas has an ancient story on the hundreds of gifts sent to the singer by lover. This succeeding blog is dedicated to the Boxing day celebrations.
It is true most Americans are unaware of the boxing day traditions. This is because boxing day is not attended in most places. Boxing day history moves year back to the British and European culture of boxing. This is not the boxing sport to participate in. It is all about sharing love through gifts.
What is Boxing Day After Christmas?
Boxing day in these times is a banking holiday in the UK. If the same falls on Saturday or Sunday, the coming Monday would be celebrated as the public holiday. It is many a time treated like Thanksgiving. In western countries, it is usually treated as a super sale day like Black Friday. Even though many are unaware of the sale as compared to Black Friday, it is beneficial to the customers and the dealers alike.
Many counties other than the UK observe boxing day as a bank holiday or feast of St. Stephen and is always celebrated on 26 December despite it falling on a Saturday or Sunday. However, compensation leaves are given to them the following week ahead.
What Is the Origin of Boxing Day?
26th December is celebrated as the boxing day. This year in 2020, It would fall on Saturday.
The origins are not solely dedicated to a particular country or tribe. The boxing day history is instead bundled by different theories from the past.
One such theory is related to the British. The servants and homemakers working for the rich families on December 25th, The Christmas day are the ones who did not take off on the Christmas holiday would receive Christmas boxes, money, or even meals from the Christmas feast that had been prepared for X-mas dinner last night. They could take these gifts home to their families to share with and enjoy an off as a day of the second celebration for Christmas. This story has marked boxing day after Christmas as a celebration of generosity by feeding the poor and gifting them small gift items in gift boxes.
This is one story of boxing day origin. Apart from helping employees with gifts and an extra Christmas bonus, the boxing day after Christmas is also dedicated to the story of churches. All year round the church would collect charity in a Christmas box from people visiting the holy place. It is on 26th December, the day after Christmas, the churchmen in charge of distributing the donation would around donating money to the needy.
Such are boxing day history stories, and all are related to generosity and charity to the poor on the boozing day. The boxing day traditions have been long lost and modified in more of sale and shopping day in the UK and other countries where the occasion is highly recognized. This is how boxing day originated.
Related Blog: 13 Fun Halloween Party Ideas for Kids
What Countries Celebrate Boxing Day After Christmas Holiday?
Not so widely recognized in the American regions, a boxing day is mostly an event in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Canada, Hungary, Poland, South Africa, Trinidad &Tobago, Nigeria, Scotland, and the Netherlands. All countries especially the commonwealth nations have different traditions for celebrating happy boxing day apart from sharing the ‘Christmas box’.
What Are the Boxing Day Traditions?
As I said earlier, different countries enjoy different boxing day traditions when it comes to spending the public holiday at home with family. Let us look at this list of traditions for the countries celebrating boxing day after Christmas holidays.
Canada:
Canada, the most chilled out country you could visit when it comes to having peace of mind and safety. They have a simple, but fun boxing day tradition. They spend the day in early discounted shopping and giving off charity.
UK:
In the United Kingdom, you can go on hunting for a trail instead of a fox. Since hunting foxes are banned, the traditions are kept up by only following the artificial trails of the animals called “trail hunting”. Also, football runs all day long in the UK as it does during thanksgiving in America.
Australia:
Australia observes Christmas during summer. This is quite opposite to almost all other counties that celebrate boxing day after the Christmas holidays in winter. Australian boxing day traditions include test cricket matches and the beginning of the Hobart Yacht Race as their sport for the day.
South Africa:
South Africans also love to spend their holiday watching and playing cricket.
New Zealand:
New Zealand also celebrates Christmas during summer. They prefer spending their day outdoors than cuddled up inside their houses to enjoy the great weather. Horse racing and cricket are most preferred in this nation during the boxing day after Christmas.
Germany:
Germans associate the boxing day holiday with St. Stephen’s Day. ‘Zweite Feiertag’ meaning- second celebration- in German is spent by the people by giving away gifts and sharing happy family feasts. They also spend time playing board games apart from spending time with family.
Celebrate your day with Turkey sandwiches and football. This time of the year is for ham, sprouts, cheese and pancakes. So, fill your Christmas boxes with these traditional items for you and them.
CONCLUSION ON DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
Although the boxing day origination could be dated back to the times of the high-class families in the British society, it is worth to celebrate take advantage of the discounted prices and being generous to the less fortunate in this harsh winter in the majority of the nations in the world. Happy Boxing Day Celebration! Merry Christmas!
