Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It falls on December 26. That date is also St. Stephen’s Day. The public observance of Boxing Day takes place on the following Monday if December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. The traditional celebration of Boxing Day included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs. 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.
