BEST OF BRITAIN
“Historically, the focus of Boxing Day was on giving, and often literally involved a box.”
BOXING DAY
Boxing Day is celebrated in the UK and Ireland on the 26 December, the day after Christmas Day. Ahead of research- ing this article, I was pretty sure I’d be telling you that it was a tradition that had its roots in the Victorian age along with Christmas trees, crackers and figgy pud- ding. In fact, its history is much longer and its origins contested. Modern-day Boxing Day is a day of
leisure activities, typically sale shopping or sport. Historically, the focus was however on giving, and often literally in- volved a box. The first mention of boxes comes in the 17th Century, when diarist Samuel Pepys wrote in 1663 of giving Christmas boxes of presents or money on the first week day after Christmas. Even before this however, somehow a
connection was made between St Stephen, whose feast day falls on the 26 February, and charity. Some have argued that this goes back to Roman times, other the Middle Ages. The most obvi- ous association of this longer history for modern-day audiences is the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas, which in fact tells the story of a 10th century Bohemian Duke who risked his own life to help that of a peasant on the feast of St Stephen. Move forward to the Victorian era,
and the tradition became defined and the act of giving cemented. During the
Liz Mills is the Assistant Editor of FOCUS Magazine.
www.focus-info.org FOCUS The Magazine 27
period, churches began to contain a box in which parishioners could leave dona- tions for the poor. Alongside this, the upper classes formalised the idea of gift- ing a box to their staff. Given these staff were required on Christmas Day, it made sense to give them the box on the 26th along with the day off and time to spend with their family. Typically, the box contained gifts, bonuses and left- over food. During the 19th Century, the tradition
of celebrating sport on Boxing Day came into being. St Stephen is the pa- tron saint of horses, which naturally cre- ated a strong association with horse riding and fox hunting. Since fox hunt- ing was banned in 2004, this Boxing Day tradition has tailed off, but the associa- tion with sport remains strong in other areas, notably football and rugby union. Boxing Day is also something of an
export, and thanks to colonialism, is also celebrated in a number of former Commonwealth nations including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and South Africa. Although there is no one particular ac-
tivity to enjoy on a modern-day Boxing Day, it’s worth checking events in your local area, where you may still find the odd eccentric activity or charity event aimed at marking the spirit of the day.
Boxing Day Sales
Boxing Day Hunt
St Stephen
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