Jump to content

Boxing Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sizedude (talk | contribs) at 15:33, 24 December 2012 (Undid revision 529610888 by 82.43.54.128 (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Christmas box" redirects here. For the genus of shrubs, see Sarcococca.
Box Day
Observed bysome members and former members of the Commonwealth of Nations
TypeBank holiday / Public holiday
Date26 December – Bank or public holiday
Related toSt. Stephen's Day, Day of Goodwill, Kwanzaa, and Second Day of Christmas/Second Christmas Day.

Boxing Day is traditionally the day following yeah booooooChristmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts from their superiors[1] or employers, known as a "Christmas box". Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and some other Commonwealth nations.

In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed to Day of Goodwill in 1994. In Ireland it is recognised as St. Stephen's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Stiofáin) or the Day of the Wren (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín).

In some European countries, notably Germany, Poland, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, 26 December is celebrated as the Second Christmas Day.[2]

In Canada, Boxing Day takes place on rubbush 26 December and is a federal public holiday.[3] In Ontario, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday where all full-time workers receive time off with pay.[4] The first day of Kwanzaa in the United States also falls on December 26th.

Etymology

The exact etymology of the term "boxing" is unclear. There are several competing theories, none of which is definitive.[5] The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. It may come from a custom in the late Roman/early Christian era, wherein metal boxes placed outside churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen,[6] which in the Western Church falls on the same day as Boxing Day.

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.[7] This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663.[8] This custom is linked to an older English tradition: Since they would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts and bonuses, and sometimes leftover food.

Date

Boxing Day is a secular holiday that is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day, which is also St. Stephen's Day, a religious holiday.[9][10][11] However, when 26 December falls on a Sunday, Boxing Day in many places is moved to 27 December. In the UK, where Boxing Day is a bank holiday, if Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, a substitute bank holiday is given on the following Monday, but if 26 December falls on a Sunday – which means that Christmas Day, another holiday, fell on a Saturday – then the Statutory Holiday for Christmas is moved.

In Scotland, Boxing Day has been specified as an additional bank holiday since 1974,[12] by Royal Proclamation under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.[13]

In Ireland – when it was part of the UK – the Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St. Stephen as a non-movable public holiday on 26 December. Since Irish Independence, the name 'Boxing Day' is used only by the authorities in Northern Ireland, which remains part of the UK. There, Boxing Day is a movable public holiday in line with the rest of the UK.

In the Australian state of South Australia, 28 December is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day and Boxing Day is not normally a public holiday. The holiday for Proclamation Day is observed on the first weekday after Christmas Day or the Christmas Day holiday.[14] Nowadays Boxing Day is popular in Australia as the first day of a Test cricket match held at the MCG. A Test match is also often held in South Africa starting on Boxing Day.

In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday[15] that is always celebrated on 26 December. In Canadian provinces where Boxing Day is a statutory holiday, and it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week.[15]

Shopping

Boxing Day crowds shopping at the Toronto Eaton Centre in Canada

In Britain,[16] Canada,[17] New Zealand and some states of Australia,[18] Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday, much like the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. It is a time where shops have sales, often with dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest amount of returns. In the UK in 2009 it was estimated that up to 12 million shoppers appeared at the sales (a rise of almost 20% compared to 2008, although this was also affected by the fact that the VAT would revert to 17.5% from 1 January).[19]

Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. It is not uncommon for long queues to form early in the morning of 26 December, hours before the opening of shops holding the big sales, especially at big-box consumer electronics retailers.[17] Many stores have a limited quantity of big draw or deeply discounted items.[20] Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. The local media often cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began queueing up, providing video of shoppers queueing and later leaving with their purchased items.[21] The High Street sales have the potential for customer stampedes, injuries and even fatalities.[22] As a result, many retailers have implemented practices aimed at managing large numbers of shoppers. They may limit entrances, restrict the number of patrons in a store at a time, provide tickets to people at the head of the queue to guarantee them a hot ticket item or canvass queued-up shoppers to inform them of inventory limitations.[20]

In recent years, retailers have expanded deals to "Boxing Week." While Boxing Day is 26 December, many retailers will run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year's Eve. Notably, in the recession of late 2008, a record number of retailers were holding early promotions due to a weak economy.[23] Canada's Boxing Day has often been compared with the American Super Saturday, the Saturday before Christmas.

In some areas of Canada, particularly in Atlantic Canada and parts of Northern Ontario (including Sault Ste. Marie[24] and Sudbury), most retailers are prohibited from opening on Boxing Day, either by provincial law or municipal bylaw, or instead by informal agreement among major retailers in order to provide a day of relaxation following Christmas Day. In these areas, sales otherwise scheduled for 26 December are moved to the 27th.[25][26]

In Ireland, since 1902, most stores remain closed on St. Stephen's Day, as with Christmas Day. In 2009, some stores decided to open on this day, breaking a 107-year-old tradition. Some stores have also started their January sales on this day.

Cyber Boxing Day

In 2009, many retailers with both online and High Street stores launched their online sales on Christmas Eve and their High Street sales on Boxing Day.[27][28]

Sport

Traditional Boxing Day hunting
Boxing day hunt meet in Keswick 1962
Boxing day hunt meet in Tiverton 2009

In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland it is traditional for the Premier League, Scottish Premier League and Irish Premier League respectively, as well as the lower divisions and rugby leagues, to hold a full programme of football and Rugby League matches on Boxing Day. Traditionally, matches on Boxing Day are played against local rivals. This was originally to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day. It also makes the day an important one in the sporting calendar. In Australia and South Africa, much anticipated Test matches are played on Boxing Day.

In horse racing, there is the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey. It is the second most prestigious chase in England, after the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Boxing Day is a popular day in the UK and U.S. for mounted fox hunters. Despite fox hunting being banned by the Hunting Act in 2004, Boxing Day remains the biggest hunt of the year for most hunts in the UK by use of scent drag trails instead of live quarry.

Australia holds the first day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the start to the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Several ice hockey contests are associated with the day. The IIHF World U20 Championship typically begins on 26 December, while the Spengler Cup also begins on 26 December in Davos, Switzerland; the Spengler Cup competition includes HC Davos, Team Canada, and other top European Hockey teams. The National Hockey League tends to have close to a full slate of games (11 were played in 2010), following the league-wide days off given for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Although Boxing Day is not celebrated in the U.S., some American colleges usually play their last non-conference college basketball games, particularly crosstown or cross-regional rivalries on the 26th, while others participate in regular season tournaments on this day.

In some African Commonwealth nations, particularly Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, prize fighting contests are held on Boxing Day. This practice has also been followed for decades in Guyana and Italy.[29]

There is a tradition in the British Army that on Boxing Day, the officers and enlisted personnel change places for one day. The tradition is examined in an episode of M*A*S*H titled "'Twas the Day After Christmas", which originally aired on December 28, 1981. Colonel Sherman T. Potter (Harry Morgan) decides to try the same thing in his own unit with mixed results.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ Peter Parley (pseud.) (1838). Tales about Christmas. pp. 323–8. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  2. ^ Brown, Cameron (28 August 2006). Christmas Facts, Figures & Fun: Facts, Figures and Fun. p. 21. ISBN 9781904332275.
  3. ^ "Public holidays in Canada". Canadian Heritage. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Statutory holidays in Canada both national and provincial". Statutory Holidays Canada. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  5. ^ Boxing Day. Snopes.com.
  6. ^ Collins, 2003, p. 38.
  7. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, 1953 "Boxing day"
  8. ^ "Saturday 19 December 1663 (Pepys' Diary)". Pepysdiary.com. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  9. ^ American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition – 'Boxing Day'
  10. ^ Oxford English
  11. ^ "BBC Radio 4 schedule, 03 December 2004". 17 November 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  12. ^ "London Gazette, 18 October 1974". London-gazette.co.uk. 18 October 1974. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  13. ^ Scottish Government website – bank holidays
  14. ^ Public Holidays
  15. ^ a b Manitoba Employment Standards Branch (27 November 2009). "Fact Sheet". Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  16. ^ Terry Kirby (27 December 2006). "Boxing Day sales soar as shoppers flock to malls". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  17. ^ a b CTV.ca News Staff (26 December 2005). "Boxing Day expected to rake in $1.8 billion". Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  18. ^ "Stocktake Trading Hours" (PDF). Myer. 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Boxing Day sales attract 'record' number of shoppers". BBC News. 28 December 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  20. ^ a b Ashleigh Patterson (25 December 2007). "How to become a Boxing Day shopping pro". Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  21. ^ toronto.ctv.ca (26 December 2007). "Boxing Day begins with early rush of bargain hunters". Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  22. ^ Joe Gould, Clare Trapasso and Rich Schapiro (28 November 2008). "Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  23. ^ CTV.ca News Staff (21 December 2008). "Boxing Day comes early as shoppers search for deals". Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  24. ^ www.city.sault-ste-marie.on.ca (2010). "Advisory – Boxing Day". Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  25. ^ soonews.ca (22 December 2007). "Boxing Day, The Debate Continues". Retrieved 26 December 2009.[dead link]
  26. ^ The Canadian Press (26 December 2009). "Boxing Day madness: shoppers descend on stores looking for deals". Retrieved 26 December 2009.[dead link]
  27. ^ IMRG (22 December 2009). "Many retailers' sales to start on Christmas Eve". Retrieved 22 December 2009.[dead link]
  28. ^ Telegraph (22 December 2009). "Boxing Day sales start on Christmas Eve". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  29. ^ Millman, Joel (28 December 2009). "Season's Beatings: 'Boxing Day' Takes a Pugilistic Turn". The Wall Street Journal (Asia Edition). Retrieved 14 November 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boxing Day.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boxing_Day&oldid=529611284"