What’s Boxing Day? The British Holiday Explained

Jed Baso
3 min readJan 21, 2023

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No, it’s got nothing to do with boxing gloves…

For us in the US, December 26 is one of the most disappointing days of the year. For the last few weeks, everything has been leading up to Christmas. And all that hype comes crashing down the day after Christmas.

However, the Brits have made the day a holiday in itself, and have made the holiday spirit crash a little less painful.

History of Boxing Day

While the exact origins of Boxing Day aren’t really known, the most widely believed origin story dates back to Britain in the 1800s. The day after Christmas became the day when servants and the poor received gifts. Servants received gifts the day after because they typically had to work during the holidays serving, cooking, and cleaning for the rich as they had their celebrations. And the poor received them the day after because that’s when the church’s donation boxes were opened and distributed for the poor.

Despite its origin, Boxing Day was first coined by Charles Dickens in 1833 and finally established as an official holiday in 1871.

December 26 is also Another Holiday…

No, it’s got nothing to do with boxing gloves…

For us in the US, December 26 is one of the most disappointing days of the year. For the last few weeks, everything has been leading up to Christmas. And all that hype comes crashing down the day after Christmas.

However, the Brits have made the day a holiday in itself, and have made the holiday spirit crash a little less painful.

History of Boxing Day

While the exact origins of Boxing Day aren’t really known, the most widely believed origin story dates back to Britain in the 1800s. The day after Christmas became the day when servants and the poor received gifts. Servants received gifts the day after because they typically had to work during the holidays serving, cooking, and cleaning for the rich as they had their celebrations. And the poor received them the day after because that’s when the church’s donation boxes were opened and distributed for the poor.

Despite its origin, Boxing Day was first coined by Charles Dickens in 1833 and finally established as an official holiday in 1871.

December 26 is also Another Holiday…

December 26 is also celebrated as St. Stephen’s Day. St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, and St. Stephen’s Day is typically celebrated with family and friends, but mainly with feasts. And a St. Stephen’s Day feast is also mentioned in a Christmas carol about a 10th-century Bohemian duke… Good King Wenceslas

The story goes that he saw a peasant collecting firewood during a snowstorm and was moved by the sight. So he collects food, drink, and firewood in a box and treks through the snowstorm to reach the poor man’s house.

How is December 26 Celebrated in Other Countries?

In Ireland, it was believed that it was a wren (a bird) that had betrayed St…

Want to know how Boxing Day is celebrated in Ireland? It involves killing birds? South Africa also celebrates the day too…

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