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How Many Day Till Xmas In The Uk?

In the Uk...why is the day after Xmas called "Boxing Day"? Can anyone tell me the origin of this?

  • Answer:

    There are disparate theories as to the origins of the term. The more common stories include: It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas 'box' to those who have worked for them throughout the year. This is still done in Britain for postmen and paper-boys - though now the 'box' is usually given before Christmas, not after. In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which made it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on 26 December, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obliged to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day. In England many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day. In churches, it was traditional to open the church's donation box on Christmas Day, and the money in the donation box was to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that lockbox in which the donations were left. Boxing Day was the day when the wren, the king of birds,[3] was captured and put in a box and introduced to each household in the village when he would be asked for a successful year and a good harvest. See Frazer's Golden Bough.

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we call it boxing day in Australia too. Don't Americans use that term?

sharkgirl

OH, i don't know but i know that where i am, in NZ, we have Boxing day too... my guess is that the 26th of December is the beginning of the Boxing tournament or something...?

Unefemme

Becaus after more tthan 2 days of seeing your family members their is always a fight

ROBIN HOOD

To answer a prior question, no, this term is not used in the United States. I have also wondered about the origin of this custom. The explanation I was given is that this is the day when wealthy families would gather items no longer needed, box them up, and distribute them to their servants. More than likely this was a very simplified version of what Berrygurl said.

greenwitch822

Hmmm...they have that in Canada as well. I only heard of it just this yr. because my Sister told me, my Brother-in-law who lives in Canada, had the day after Christmas off as well as Christmas because of "Boxing Day".

angel

In Victorian times, many of The Rich were, presumably, so overcome with guilt, for having stuffed themselves with food and drink on Christmas Day, whilst the poor and underprivileged were starving, that they went around with 'Money Boxes' asking for contributions for them.

jamjan100

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