December 26, 2017

Today, December 26, is Boxing Day, a holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. December 26, the day after Christmas, is also St. Stephen’s Day. The traditional celebration of Boxing Day includes giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs. Boxing Day traditions also include parades, shopping, and sporting events.

Colorful, clownlike mummers march in a parade to celebrate Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, in the United Kingdom. Credit: © Homer Sykes, CountrySideCollection/Alamy Images

The holiday may date from the Middle Ages (about the A.D. 400′s through the 1400′s). But the exact origin of the holiday is unknown. It may have begun with the lords and ladies of England. They presented Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on December 26. Or it may have begun with priests. The priests opened the church’s alms (charity) boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents to the poor.