Figure 1.0
Boxing Day is a secular holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, and some other Commonwealth nations. It is usually celebrated on 26th December, which is also St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas Day, or occurs on the first weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws.
There are a few different versions of how the words "Boxing Day" inherited from.
In one of the version, it is mentioned that during Advent, Anglican parishes displayed a box into which churchgoers put their monetary donations. On the day after Christmas, the boxes were broken open and their contents distributed among the poor, thus giving rise to the term Boxing Day.
Another version about how the Boxing Day named is because on this day it was the customary for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good service throughout the year. Besides, it also included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, and the poor and needy ones.
In addition, there is also another version about the Boxing Day which related to the story of the ships protection. During the Age of Exploration, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, a Christmas Box was used as a good luck device. It was a small container placed on each ship while it was still in port. It was put there by a priest, and those crewmen who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was then sealed up and kept on board for the entire voyage. If the ship came home safely, the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the sayings of a mass of thanks for the success of the voyage. The Priest would keep the box sealed until Christmas when he would open it to share the contents with the poor.
Figure 2.0
Well, there might be an argument between which version is true? However, the most important is both are happened to be good. Therefore, the main intention of celebration will be more important rather than the truth of the myth. Don't you agree?
Today, the celebration of Boxing Day has become part of the celebrations of being together with family members. It is a public holiday which allows most of the people, especially most of the workers to enjoy the holiday and have gatherings with their lovely family.
Figure 3.0
Every year, millions of people are expected to hit Britain's high streets to work off their Christmas dinners while enjoying the Boxing Day sales. Hence, normally shoppers were busy queuing early in the morning outside the shopping mall, waiting to be the first to dive for the sales racks as the doors opened, hoping to get the best bargains.
Hope you have a wonderful Boxing Day with your family!! =)
Sources for Figure 1.0: http://acelebrationofwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/boxingdaytitle.gif
Sources for Figure 2.0: http://jaybot7.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/boxing-day1.jpg
Sources for Figure 3.0: http://smartcanucks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/boxing-day-canada-2010.jpg
