You’ve probably heard a whole number of different tales about why December 26 is called Boxing Day – but this is where the name actually comes from.
It’s not because people get rid of all of their boxes from Christmas Day or even because unwanted presents are boxed up – its origins are from much earlier.
In recent times it has been heavily associated with shopping sales, football matches, horse racing and even fox hunting, however, the name is nothing to do with any of those.
The Oxford English Dictionary states that the earliest mention of Boxing Day in Britain was in the 1830s.
They define it as “the first week-day after Christmas-day, observed as a holiday on which post-men, errand-boys, and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas-box”.
The giving of boxes refers to the practice of collecting for the poor with boxes, which were opened the day after Christmas, which is also St Stephen’s Day although what these boxes were actually for is debated.
When this practice first started is also disputed as some say it can be traced back to the Victorian era, but others say it goes back much further. There are claims it dates back to the Middle Ages and even the Roman Empire, once Christianity had arrived.
Though the timing of its origins may be disputed, it was the Victorians who fleshed out the meaning of Boxing Day as in 1871 it became a bank holiday.
It was around this time, as a result of the growing tradition, that wealthy people gave their servants time off to visit their families. They were handed a box to take home, containing gifts, bonuses and sometimes leftover food.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
