What Is Boxing Day And How Did It Get That Name?
No, it's not a day to strap on the gloves and get in the ring! Learn all about this post-Christmas holiday and who celebrates it!
Quick Reference: Boxing Day
- When: December 26 every year. Also the Feast of St. Stephen.
- Who celebrates: Commonwealth countries, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, plus parts of Europe and the Caribbean. Officially recognized since 1871.
- Where the name comes from: the “Christmas box” given to servants and tradespeople the day after Christmas (Oxford English Dictionary, 1830s).
- Folk origin: Good King Wenceslas (10th-century Bohemia) braved a blizzard with boxes of food for a peasant on the Feast of St. Stephen.
- Modern celebrations: shopping sales, charity fun runs, fox hunts, soccer matches (UK Premier League “Boxing Day fixtures”), beach swims in Santa hats.
- Not about: the sport of boxing. Two completely unrelated things.
Each year, on December 26, several countries around the world celebrate a holiday known as Boxing Day. It is officially recognized in Commonwealth countries (places like the United Kingdom, Australia, and our neighbors to the north, Canada). We Americans see this holiday on our calendars, but few of us know what it represents. The Britannica entry on Boxing Day has the short version; we have the long version below.
Even though this holiday has been officially recognized in the UK and Canada since 1871, many of the people who celebrate it each year are unclear on what it means or how it came about. Hint: Boxing Day definitely is not about fighting.
Here at the Farmers’ Almanac, we love holidays, especially those with mysterious origins. Here is how people around the world celebrate Boxing Day, plus some of the legends that may have given rise to it.
Good King Wenceslas
The traditional Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” tells the story of one of the possible origins of Boxing Day. If you are unfamiliar with this song, listen below and read along with the lyrics. The events of this carol take place on December 26, which also happens to be the Feast of St. Stephen. In the song, Wenceslas, a 10th-century Duke of Bohemia, sees a poor man and decides to help him. The Duke enlists the help of his page in gathering food, wine, and firewood, boxing it all up so they can take it to the peasant. Then Wenceslas and his page brave a blizzard to deliver the boxes of goods.
Legend holds that Wenceslas’s actions started a tradition in which churchgoers would donate money during the Advent. Then, on the day after Christmas, the boxes of money would be broken open and distributed among the poor. After decades of carrying out this (un)boxing tradition, December 26 became known as Boxing Day.
Employee Bonus Day?
Another tradition says it originates from the practice of the aristocracy giving their employees bonuses and presents on the day after Christmas. As the stories go, employees would take their boxes home and open them up with their families, hence Boxing Day. The two explanations are not mutually exclusive: charitable Christmas-boxes in churches and seasonal staff bonuses from the gentry both fed into the same custom.
What We Do Know About Boxing Day
We may not know precisely how this holiday came to be, but we do know one thing: the first recorded mention of Boxing Day comes from an 1830s version of the Oxford English Dictionary. The definition given is “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.”
In other words, according to this definition, Boxing Day is a day to recognize all the service people in your life by leaving them Christmas presents. This year, if you want to celebrate Boxing Day the right way, leave a box of goodies for delivery people, the sanitation worker, and all the others who make life easier for everyone.
Modern Boxing Day Celebrations
For most people, today’s version of Boxing Day is not about ancient traditions or giving out piles of presents. It is an official bank holiday and a day of rest and relaxation (although many retailers hold “Boxing Day Sales”). Christmas is over, and there is nothing left to do but eat leftovers, play with the presents you opened the day before, and enjoy a day off from work or school. In the United Kingdom, there are many Boxing Day events, including fox hunts that draw thousands of spectators, sporting events (the Premier League’s Boxing Day football fixtures are nearly as fixed a tradition as the carols), dips in the sea while dressed as Santa, fun runs, charity events, and parades.
Here in the United States, we may not mark the actual holiday, but for many of us, it is still a day to relax with family, knowing that the holidays are drawing to a close.
Boxing Day Around the World
| Country | How it’s marked |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Bank holiday, Premier League “Boxing Day fixtures,” sea swims, sales |
| Canada | Statutory holiday in most provinces, retail sales, family time |
| Australia / New Zealand | Sydney to Hobart yacht race, the Boxing Day Test cricket match |
| South Africa | Renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994, still December 26 |
| Germany | Zweiter Weihnachtsfeiertag (Second Christmas Day), large family meal |
| USA | Not a federal holiday, but a quiet day for leftovers and returns |
December 26 weather, by zip code
Snowshoe walk or fireside book?
The Farmers’ Almanac extended forecast tells you what the day after Christmas will bring, so the Boxing Day plan fits the weather.
Boxing Day FAQ
What is Boxing Day?
A public holiday on December 26 in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and several other Commonwealth countries. Historically a day to give a “Christmas box” of money or goods to servants, tradespeople, and the poor.
When did Boxing Day start?
The custom is much older, but the name was first recorded in print in an 1830s Oxford English Dictionary entry. The UK and Canada officially recognized it as a holiday in 1871.
Is Boxing Day about boxing the sport?
No. The “boxing” in Boxing Day refers to a Christmas-box, a gift container, not the sport. The two have nothing to do with each other.
Do Americans celebrate Boxing Day?
Not officially, December 26 is not a U.S. federal holiday. Many Americans still treat it as a quiet recovery day after Christmas, and big-box retailers run “Day After Christmas” sales that mirror the UK Boxing Day sale tradition.
How do people celebrate Boxing Day in the UK?
Premier League football matches, charity fun runs, cold sea swims in Santa costumes, fox hunts (now mostly trail hunts after the ban), big-store sales, and a long, lazy meal with family.
Who is the “Wenceslas” of the famous Boxing Day carol?
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (c. 907 to 935 AD), a real historical figure known for piety and charity. The carol by John Mason Neale was published in 1853, set to a 13th-century spring tune.
What should I do for Boxing Day if I want to honor the original meaning?
Leave a thank-you envelope for your mail carrier, delivery drivers, sanitation crew, or building staff. Many cultures wrap the year by recognizing the people whose work makes daily life work.
For more holiday history reading, see our companion guides: who was Saint Nick?, mistletoe facts and lore, and frankincense and myrrh.
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Amber Kanuckel
Amber Kanuckel is a freelance writer from rural Ohio who loves all things outdoors. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics.
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- Amber Kanuckel
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When I grew up in UK in the 40s and 50s, on Boxing day we gave a Christmas Box to delivery men etc. The box by then was an envelope with money. My mother always gave them a mince pie as well.
I didn’t know that about Boxing day, and am glad you shared it! I do remember seeing it before, though. Happy Holidays!!!
I didn’t know what you say is the meaning of boxing day. I always thought Boxing Day was the day (that would happen in January) that we get all our Christmas decorations boxed up and put away until we need them again next year. Who’d thought.
Twelfth night, Jan 5 was the day we took down the decorations. We had the tiniest Christmas tree with decorations, glass balls from before WW1. It was also the end of mince pies for that year as we were usually down to the last jar of homemade mincemeat by then and mincemeat was only made in september. We also had homemade Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, first slice on Christmas day. The cake was a fruitcake made with minutely chopped candied peel and dried fruit. Then every week the cake received a sprinkle of brandy. In December the cake was covered with a layer of almond paste then two layers of icing and finally the cake was decorated with icing. All the icing was hard icing. When I first moved to Texas I tried making these goodies but they were too rich for a Christmas where the temperature hover around to 70 to 80F around Christmas Time. (these are adult foods and generally not liked by kids)
on my facebook feed, boxing day is when all the cats play and sleep in boxes. just thought i would add that in.
Enjoyed reading about boxing day, had never heard of it begore. Thank you and Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.
I never knew the true meaning of Boxing day. Thank you for sharing this very interesting piece of information. I really enjoyed reading and learning about it! Merry Christmas to all !!
Thank you for this informative article on service and love for others. Nicely done!
Thoroughly enjoyed this article. I liked seeing all the words to a song I’ve always loved! Inspiring-I have a Wenceslas figure that I leave out all year for inspiration! Happy New Year!
One of our older priests in his late 70’s was born and raised in rural England. He said it was a tradition that the first person to enter your home on Boxing Day set the tone of good or bad fortune for the coming year. Red headed children especially signified good fortune and health. He had flaming red hair as a chid, so he remembers being paraded around the village to be the ‘first-step’ visitor to many homes!
That’s wonderful.
This is a fantastic article about the meanings of Boxing Day. Thank you and Merry Christmas for the informative story!