Boxing Day definition of Boxing Day in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Boxing Day

December 26

The term "Boxing Day" comes from the little earthenware boxes that servants, tradespeople, and others who rendered services to the public used to carry around on the day after Christmas to collect tips and year-end bonuses. Although the custom of distributing gifts (usually money) to public servants and employees has continued, it often takes place before Christmas rather than after, and boxes have nothing to do with it. But the name has remained, and Boxing Day is still observed in England, Canada, Australia, and many other nations. In South Africa, it is known as the Day of Good Will . If December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday or Tuesday is usually observed as a public or Bank Holiday.

SOURCES:
BkDays-1864, vol. II, p. 764
BkHolWrld-1986, Dec 26
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 322
EncyChristmas-2003, p. 79
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 765
NatlHolWrld-1968, p. 79
OxYear-1999, p. 534

Celebration day: Dec 26

Celebrated in: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, England and Wales, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Iceland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Malawi, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Niue, Northern Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Scotland, Sierra Leone, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Mentioned in	?		References in classic literature	?		Encyclopedia browser	?		Full browser	?
No references found	On the evening of Boxing Day Philip sat in the dining-room with his uncle. Of Human Bondage by Maugham, W. Somerset View in context From this standpoint the drama may be said to have begun when the front doors of the house with the stable opened on the garden with the monkey tree, and a young girl came out with bread to feed the birds on the afternoon of Boxing Day. The Innocence Of Father Brown by Chesterton, Gilbert K. View in context	box-coking test box-girder bridge box-head window boxboard boxcar boxcar circuit boxcar function boxed comments boxed cornice boxed eaves boxed frame boxed gutter boxed heart boxed mullion boxed pith boxed shutter boxed stair boxed stringer boxen boxer Boxer Protocol Boxer Rebellion Boxer Uprising boxfish Boxing Boxing Day Boxing Ring boxing shutter boxing the compass boxology boxplot boxwinder boxwood Boxwood Hall State Historic Site boxwork Boy Scouts Boy Scouts' Day Boy-Zelenski, Tadeusz Boyacá boyar Boyar Books Boyar Duma Boyars Boyce Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park Boyce, William Boycott Boycott Apple Boycott of the Imperial Duma Boyd Boyd Big Tree Conservation Area	boxhauls Boxhead Boxie Boxie Boxie Boxie Boxie boxier boxiest boxiness boxing boxing boxing boxing boxing boxing Boxing After Dark Boxing and Wrestling Boxing bag boxing centre boxing centre boxing centre boxing centre boxing clever boxing clever boxing clever boxing clever boxing clever Boxing Club Magid Roubaix Boxing Club Olympique Pontois Boxing Day Boxing Day Tsunami boxing ears boxing ears boxing ears boxing ears boxing ears boxing equipment Boxing Five Compétitions boxing glove boxing glove Boxing gloves Boxing gloves boxing match boxing match boxing match Boxing moves Boxing moves Boxing moves boxing of an impression boxing of an impression boxing of an impression boxing of an impression boxing of an impression Boxing out boxing ring boxing ring boxing sheep up boxing sheep up boxing sheep up boxing sheep up

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Encyclopedia browser

Full browser

No references found

On the evening of Boxing Day Philip sat in the dining-room with his uncle.

Of Human Bondage by Maugham, W. Somerset View in context

From this standpoint the drama may be said to have begun when the front doors of the house with the stable opened on the garden with the monkey tree, and a young girl came out with bread to feed the birds on the afternoon of Boxing Day.

The Innocence Of Father Brown by Chesterton, Gilbert K. View in context