Holidays

Today, December 26, Boxing Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom and other countries such as Ireland, Canada and Australia. It is considered a national holiday. The idea of this day is to promote charity with the most disadvantaged.

Boxing day

Its origin is not very clear. It is believed that it comes from the custom of the aristocracy to give the day off to the servants for their services on Christmas Day, so that they could visit their families. On that day they were given a Christmas-box, a box containing gifts, food and tips.

Others point out that it was a tradition in the Church to open on the feast of St. Stephen (December 26) the boxes with the donations of the parishioners to distribute them among the poorest. It seems that even today some churches continue to open their boxes on Boxing Day.

Since 1871, Boxing Day has been an official public holiday in the United Kingdom, although the way it is celebrated today is far from the charitable nature of that time.

Apart from being a public holiday and the fact that in some companies it is customary to give their employees some kind of gift, Boxing Day is a day to meet and enjoy with family and friends.

A date on which a multitude of sporting events are scheduled (it is one of the big days of the Premier League), outdoor shows, exhibitions, even commercial actions to boost sales, with offers and discounts.

As is often the case with many traditions, time will tell whether it will remain just another party for leisure and consumption or will continue to maintain its charitable spirit. What do you think? ?‍♂️?‍♀️