Boxing Day in the UK

What is Boxing Day?

Boxing Day is a public holiday originating in England, which is now celebrated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Greenland, New Zealand, Hong Kong and countries in the commonwealth with a mainly Christian population. In South Africa this public holiday is now known as the Day of Goodwill.

History

Boxing Day may have started as a pagan Anglo-Saxon offering of parcels of food and gifts to the poor, the day after the mid-winter feasting and celebrations. The tradition continued into Christian England. The name is thought to have possibly originated when these gifts of food were given the day after the wealthy landowners celebrated Christmas and the generous leftovers were boxed up and distributed among the labourers, servants, and trades people who were employed by the landowners. As England became the United Kingdom and developed the commonwealth the tradition was spread throughout the world.

Today

Today Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated in the UK on 26 December, or St Stephens Day, the day after Christmas Day. Unlike St. Stephen’s Day, Boxing Day is a secular holiday. Although the day after Christmas is considered Boxing Day no matter what day of the week it falls on, if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday will be carried over until the following weekday, giving workers the benefit of the day off. Equally, if Christmas and Boxing Day fall on a Saturday Sunday, they are celebrated on Saturday and Sunday, but Monday Tuesday will be public holidays.

Shopping

In the United Kingdom Boxing Day is known as a shopping holiday. Most shops open early with Boxing Day sales, which are the start of the January Sales. For many shops, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue. Often people wait outside the shops for the opening, and it is not uncommon for people to arrive in the very early hours of the morning for the biggest sales, in particular the department store Harrods. However, because of the crowds, and the edgy tempers many people prefer to stay at home and relax with their friends and family.

Family

Many people also find Boxing Day a convenient family compromise day—they spend Christmas with one side of the family on Christmas Day and the other side on Boxing Day—then switch each year. Typically a cold buffet is served from the leftovers of the day before.

Boxing Day is also a good day to just recover from the excesses of Christmas Day, relaxing at home, without any work pressure.

Sport

In England, a full programme of football and rugby matches can be viewed on Boxing Day. Matches on Boxing Day are played against the local rivals. Originally, this was to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day.

Another sporting tradition on Boxing Day is horse racing. The King George VI Chase held at Kempton racecourse in Surrey is the second most prestigious chase in England, after the Cheltenham God Cup.

Boxing Day Dip

Since the early 1970’s many villages and towns host Boxing Day Swims or Dips. These are usually held to raise money for charity and the swim is often completed in ‘fancy dress’ (silly costumes). Many of these ‘dips’ on the coasts are organized by the Volunteer Lifeguards. In 2004 the dip at Seaburn in Sunderland raised £60,000 for charity, continuing the tradition of charity on Boxing Day.

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