Overview
- The term is widely linked to medieval church alms boxes for the poor and to ‘Christmas boxes’ given to workers, rather than to boxing.
- By the 17th century, many servants received December 26 off with boxes of money, goods or food, reflecting customs tied to St Stephen’s Day.
- Early recorded usages appear in the 18th–19th centuries, with citations from 1743 and 1833, and the day gained UK bank-holiday status in 1871, with Scotland formalising the holiday in 1974.
- Boxing Day is observed across parts of the former British Empire, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and others, while in the United States it is generally just the day after Christmas or St Stephen’s Day.
- Modern customs feature major retail sales and sporting fixtures, with the UK’s late‑1990s trading-law changes cited as accelerating the shift toward shopping.