CHRISTMAS WEEK CONTINUED: BOXING DAY

Boxing Day traditionally lands on 26th December each year.

Some facts:

Boxing Day is celebrated all over the world. To name a few countries that celebrate this special day are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Greenland, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

In South Africa, Boxing Day is known as the “Day of Goodwill.” This day is about giving to the less fortunate.

In parts of Europe, such as several regions of Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Romania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, and most of Ireland (excluding most of the North), 26 December is Saint Stephen's Day, which is considered the second day of Christmas.

Boxing Day traditions depend on the location; however, it includes shopping, giving money and gifts to the less fortunate, and a day of watching sporting events like horse racing and football.

There are competing theories for the origins of the term Boxing Day, none of which is definitive.

The European tradition of giving money and other gifts to those in need, or in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown; it may reference the alms box placed in Christian churches to collect donations for the poor. The tradition may come from a custom in the late Roman/early Christian era wherein alms boxes placed in churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen, which, in the Western Christian Churches, falls on the same day as Boxing Day, the second day of Christmastide. On this day, it is customary in some localities for the alms boxes to be opened and distributed to the poor.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the earliest attestation from Britain in 1743, defining it as "the day after Christmas day", and saying "traditionally on this day tradespeople, employees, etc., would receive presents or gratuities (a "Christmas box") from their customers or employers."

In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year. This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663. This custom is linked to an older British tradition where the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families since they would have had to serve their masters on Christmas Day. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. Until the late 20th century, there continued to be a tradition among many in the UK to give a Christmas gift, usually cash, to vendors, although not on Boxing Day, as many would not work on that day

On Boxing Day 2004, a massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake created a tsunami around the Indian Ocean, resulting in the deaths of over 300,000 people. Indonesia was the worst affected country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. It was the deadliest natural disaster in Boxing Day history.

In Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK, Boxing Day is the heaviest shopping day of the year. It’s even busier than Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

However, it is changing: while it still falls within the biggest shopping days of the year, the popularity of online shopping has reduced the overall spending people do on December 26.

“Fifteen years ago it was pretty much guaranteed that you would only get big sales a few times a year—Boxing Day and the big summer clearance,” Bryan Roberts, an analyst at Kantar Retail, told The Telegraph in 2015. “That is no longer the case.” “The Boxing Day sales are pretty much dead,” Roberts added. “Black Friday and Cyber Monday illustrate Christmas sales are starting earlier and earlier. There is a possibility prices will just keep on dropping in the run-up to Christmas. This makes the Boxing Day sales incredibly diluted.”

In Australia, Boxing Day is a public holiday in all jurisdictions except the state of South Australia, where a public holiday known as Proclamation Day is celebrated on the first weekday after Christmas Day or the Christmas Day holiday.

Both the Boxing Day Test cricket match held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begin on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is one of the British bank holidays recognized since 1871.

On Boxing Day in the UK, the most popular online searches for shopping are sale items.

National Candy Cane Day is celebrated on December 26 every year in the United States.

On December 26, 1973, William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece “The Exorcist” was released.

On this day in 2006, Former US president Gerald Ford died at his home in California. He was president between 1974 & 1977.