While Americans wake on 26th December to a house full of wrapping paper and leftover turkey, much of the Commonwealth world celebrates an entirely different holiday: Boxing Day. Despite its prominence across Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and dozens of other nations, the origins of this peculiar name remain surprisingly murky. No, it has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, nor with recycling Christmas gift boxes. The true story of Boxing Day weaves together medieval charity, Victorian class structure, Christian martyrdom, and centuries of evolving British tradition.
The Name: Competing Theories
There are competing theories for the origins of the term “Boxing Day,” none of which is definitive. Historians have proposed several explanations, each with its own historical evidence and logical appeal.
The Church Alms Box Theory
Churches throughout medieval and early modern England maintained alms boxes where parishioners deposited charitable donations throughout the year, sturdy wooden or metal boxes secured with locks that sat near church entrances as constant reminders of Christian duty toward the less fortunate. Some historians tie the use of the term to boxes of donations that were installed in churches during the pre-Christmas season of Advent in the early days of Christianity during the second and third centuries.
Traditionally, these church boxes would be ceremonially opened on December 26, the day after Christmas celebrations concluded, with parish priests counting the donations and distributing them among the poor, widows, orphans, and other vulnerable community members. This practice is connected directly to biblical teachings about charity while serving practical social welfare functions in an era before government assistance programs.
The Servants’ Christmas Box Theory
The second major theory relates to the treatment of household servants in British society. 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. This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys’ diary entry for 19th December 1663, making it one of the earliest written references to the practice.
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, with employers giving each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. A typical Christmas box might contain monetary gifts equivalent to several days’ wages, practical items like fabric or clothing, preserved foods, and sometimes luxury items that would otherwise remain beyond a servant’s reach.
Another theory tied to a practice that arose around the 16th century involved working-class people spending December 26 seeking out Christmas “boxes,” or tips, from the people they had served throughout the year. Not everyone appreciated this custom; in 1710, essayist Jonathan Swift complained that “I shall be undone here by Christmas boxes”.
The Convergence Theory
Boxing Day appears to be a culmination of a series of related events, rather than one singular entity, arguably stemming from the giving of boxed alms on St Stephen’s Day and the later tradition of the wealthy giving gifts to their servants on the day after Christmas. This suggests that rather than having one clear origin, the holiday evolved from multiple charitable practices that all involved “boxes” of some kind.
St. Stephen’s Day: The Religious Foundation
Understanding Boxing Day requires understanding St. Stephen’s Day, which falls on the same date. Saint Stephen was one of the first deacons of the Christian church and was killed for his beliefs around 36 AD, making him Christianity’s first martyr. Known for serving the poor, Saint Stephen is traditionally celebrated with charity and the distribution of alms.
St Stephen was a deacon who, from the Dark Ages onwards, was on hand to ensure the contents of the collection plate were divided into alms boxes, and then, on St Stephen’s Day, these boxes were distributed among the poor. This directly connected the saint’s legacy of serving those in need to the practical act of opening alms boxes.
The carol “Good King Wenceslas” captures the spirit of St. Stephen’s Day perfectly. The king was a real figure: Saint Wenceslas, a 10th-century Bohemian duke who, according to legend, did noble deeds “on the feast of Stephen”, 26th December. Written by John Mason Neale and first published in 1853, the lyrics celebrate the spirit of Boxing Day, generosity, as it describes King Wenceslas watching a poor man “gath’ring winter fuel,” then bringing the peasant food and logs for his fire.
The Victorian Crystallisation
The formalisation of Boxing Day as we recognise it today largely crystallised during the Victorian era under Queen Victoria’s reign, operating within a rigid class structure that defined nearly every aspect of daily life. During the Victorian Era (1837–1901), the upper class would box up leftover food, money, or goods and give them to their tradesmen as well as their servants for reliable service all year.
The day after Christmas traditionally belonged to the servants, with household staff typically receiving the afternoon or entire day off to visit their own families, often traveling considerable distances to reach their homes. For those in servitude, St Stephen’s Day may have been the only day off that they had to visit their families, so it was common to pack them off with a few boxed treats or leftovers from the Christmas table.
The presentation ceremony itself carried symbolic weight, with employers formally presenting these boxes to their household staff before they departed to visit their families, and servants would then carry these boxes home where the contents would be shared with their own families, extending the Christmas celebration to working-class households.
Becoming an Official Holiday
Up until it became a public holiday in 1871, Boxing Day in the UK was more commonly known as St Stephen’s Day or the Feast of St Stephen. Boxing Day first became a public holiday for most of the UK in 1871, however, it wasn’t made a public holiday in Scotland until 1974.
The transition from St. Stephen’s Day to Boxing Day in popular parlance reflected broader social changes. The religious foundation remained, but the secular practices of gift-giving and charity became more prominent in the public imagination. The name “Boxing Day” emphasised the practical, communal aspects of the holiday rather than its religious roots.
The Spread Across the Commonwealth
Boxing Day became firmly embedded in British culture and naturally spread throughout the British Empire. Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Each nation adopted the holiday but often developed its own unique traditions around it.
The holiday was not, however, universal even within British territories. The holiday was not perpetuated by the English in the American colonies, which explains why Boxing Day remains largely unknown in the United States despite the country’s British colonial heritage.
Modern Boxing Day Traditions
Today’s Boxing Day celebrations vary significantly from their Victorian origins, though traces of the old traditions persist in interesting ways.
Sports and Recreation
26th December is also the feast day of St. Stephen, the patron saint of horses, and Boxing Day has come to be a day of sporting events, including horse races, foxhunting, and rugby. Traditional foxhunting was modified in 2005 after the enactment of legislation in England and Wales that largely banned the use of hounds in hunts.
Hockey has become particularly associated with Boxing Day in countries like Canada and Sweden. The IIHF World Junior Championship typically begins on 26th December, while the Spengler Cup also begins on 23rd December in Davos, Switzerland. In Sweden, the related sport of bandy is also associated with the day, with Saint Stephen’s Day bandy games having become an established tradition.
Shopping Frenzy
Perhaps the most dramatic transformation of Boxing Day has been its evolution into a major shopping event. In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Trinidad and Tobago, Boxing Day is a popular shopping holiday with common sales and dramatic price reductions, and for many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the highest 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. The holiday kicks off what is known as “Boxing Week,” during which retailers attempt to move old stock and shoppers vie for one last bargain of the year.
Interestingly, this retail dominance faces competition from American influences. In recent years, the American tradition of Black Friday, massive sales that take place the day after Thanksgiving each November, has been taking hold in the United Kingdom and has largely overshadowed Boxing Week.
Food and Family
Boxing Day meals are typically made from Christmas leftovers, think turkey sandwiches, cold meats, salads, and festive desserts. Today, Boxing Day is a day off in England and Canada, and just a day to relax after the festivities of Christmas with no feast, it’s all about the leftovers.
This represents a significant shift from the formal Victorian presentations and religious observances. Modern Boxing Day has become primarily about relaxation, extending the Christmas holiday for one more day before returning to normal life.
The Gift-Giving Tradition’s Evolution
Before World War II, it was common for working people, such as milkmen and butchers, to travel around their delivery places and collect their Christmas box or tip. This tradition has now mostly stopped, and any Christmas tips given to people, such as postal workers and newspaper delivery children, are not normally given or collected on Boxing Day.
The shift reflects broader changes in how service relationships function in modern society. The formal master-servant dynamics that gave rise to Boxing Day have largely disappeared, though the spirit of appreciating those who provide services throughout the year persists in different forms.
Regional Variations: Ireland and Wren Day
In Ireland, 26th December takes on additional layers of tradition. St Stephen’s Day has been observed in Ireland for generations, given the country’s close ties to Catholicism, and it’s still a public holiday, meaning that most people have the day off work.
Ireland also maintains the unique tradition of Wren Day. Some parts of the world have their own traditions for the day, with pockets of people across the entire island continuing the tradition of Wren Day, or Lá an Dreolín, though Wren Day’s origins are just as murky as Boxing Day, with competing theories as to whether it evolved from Celtic mythology, Viking invaders, or an early Christian festival.
Children in Ireland used to celebrate St Stephen’s Day, also called Wren Day, on 26th December by hunting a wren (a bird that was believed to bring bad luck), attaching it to a pole or a branch of holly, and then bringing it from house to house, collecting money in exchange for later burying the wren to ensure good luck for the new year.
This tradition of wren hunting comes from an Irish legend that says a wren betrayed St. Stephen as he was hiding from his attackers by flapping its wings or singing, thereby giving away the saint’s whereabouts, making wrens harbingers of misfortune. The tradition of wren hunting died out in the 20th century, but Wren Day parades are still a feature in some parts of Ireland, particularly in Dublin; Dingle, County Kerry; and Carrigaline, County Cork.
Boxing Day Around the World Today
The holiday’s status varies significantly by country. When 26th December comes on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is designated as the official public holiday, ensuring that workers receive a day off regardless of how the calendar falls.
Some countries have created their own variations. In South Africa, 26th December is the Day of Goodwill, a public holiday, reframing the day’s charitable origins in a post-apartheid context. In Singapore, Boxing Day was a public holiday for working people and students when it fell on a Saturday or Sunday, but Boxing Day is no longer a public holiday.
In an interesting attempt at cultural transplantation, in Massachusetts, Governor William F. Weld declared in 1996 that every 26th December is Boxing Day, in response to efforts by a coalition of British citizens to “transport the English tradition to the United States,” but not as an employee holiday, and the holiday is otherwise not widely celebrated in the United States.
The Enduring Mystery and Modern Meaning
Despite centuries of celebration, the exact origin of the name “Boxing Day” remains uncertain. This ambiguity doesn’t diminish the holiday’s significance but rather adds to its charm. The multiple origin theories, church alms boxes, servants’ Christmas boxes, tradesmen’s collection boxes, all point to a common theme: Boxing Day has always been about giving, charity, and acknowledging those who serve.
What began as a day for opening alms boxes and giving gifts to servants has evolved into a day of rest, sport, shopping, and family time. The religious foundations remain for those who observe St. Stephen’s Day, while the secular traditions have taken on lives of their own. The charitable spirit that animated the earliest celebrations persists in various forms, from donations to sporting events that raise money for charity to the simple act of spending time with loved ones.
Boxing Day stands as a testament to how holidays evolve while maintaining threads of continuity with the past. The boxes may no longer contain leftover food for servants or coins for the poor, but the day still represents a pause in the year’s rhythm, an extension of Christmas generosity, and a reminder that celebrations can honour both saints and shoppers, both tradition and transformation.
As December 26th arrives each year, millions across the Commonwealth nations observe Boxing Day in their own ways, whether attending church, watching sports, hunting for bargains, or simply enjoying another day with family over turkey sandwiches. And in that diversity of observance, the holiday’s true legacy endures: a day that belongs not to one origin story or one tradition, but to the evolving relationship between charity, celebration, and community that defines the best of the holiday season.
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