Boxing Day originated in England in the middle of the 19th century under Queen Victoria. Dec. 26, or Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other Commonwealth countries. It is spent with family and friends at open gatherings with lots of food, fun, friendship and love.

Boxing Day is so called because it was the custom on that day for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good and reliable service throughout the year.

Boxing Day is also St. Stephen’s Day. St Stephen was a little known saint who achieved eternal fame by being the first Christian to be martyred for his faith by being stoned to death shortly after Christ’s crucifixion.

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 (A.D. 400s-1500s), but the exact origin is unknown. It may have begun with the lords and ladies of England, who presented Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on Dec. 26. Or it may have begun with priests, who opened the church’s alms (charity) boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents to the poor.

Source: Paul Denton, U.K. radio host

Happy Boxing Day, everybody! Or is it Merry Boxing Day? We don’t know. Frankly, we thought Boxing Day was one of those afternoons you spend watching the entire Rocky series on DVD.

Most people have heard of this holiday, celebrated in a handful of countries, including Canada. But does anybody know what it’s really all about?

Quite a few, as it turns out.

We’ll start with the Hoys, owners of the Maine-based publishing company Booklocker.com, and their big, extended family. On a day when most of us are resting up and peeling tinsel off our feet, the Hoys are just getting things under way.

Angela Hoy, Bangor

“Ever since I was a wee girl, I have felt a terrible post-holiday let-down each year. Once the last gift was unwrapped, it was almost unbearable. Weeks of preparation and merriment were over — just like *THAT* (snapping my finger)!

“And, there always seems to be competition among party hosts and hostesses on the December weekends before Christmas. If you didn’t get your invitations out early enough, nobody would come to your party because everybody already had plans.

“Nine years ago, I came up with an idea to extend the holidays by just one more day while also ensuring EVERYBODY would come to our party!

“We started The Hoys’ Annual Boxing Day Party.

“We tell everyone to bring their holiday leftovers so our party platter table is always groaning under the weight of ham, turkey, dinner rolls (perfect for little sandwiches), runny Jell-O, countless cracked Christmas cookies, lukewarm casseroles and more. We also serve soda for the children and eggnog and, shall we say, other delights for the adults.

“The one rule we have for the party is that everybody must bring one gift they received that they didn’t want, re-wrapped in recycled gift wrap. We put all the gifts under the tree and draw numbers before we start a very rowdy and loud white elephant gift exchange. I admit I do ‘plant’ some gifts under the tree that are guaranteed to lead to all-out war, like a bottle of champagne, a spicy negligee, a football or basketball (the kids always fight over that) and a huge jar FULL of candy.

“Of course, some of the gifts nobody (and I mean NOBODY) wants are a hoot as well, and often leave us in tears of laughter.

“By the way, we absolutely participate in the charity aspect that the current Boxing Day entails . . . but we send out those gifts before Christmas, not after. It would be an insult to give away our unwanted gifts to paupers like they did in days gone by. We only do that to our Boxing Day Party friends.”

Margaret Craven, Lewiston

“In Ireland, St. Stephen’s Day, Dec. 26, or in England, called Boxing Day, is the day for ‘Hunting the Wren’ or ‘Going on the Wren.’ Originally, groups of young boys and teenagers would hunt for a wren, and then chase the bird until they caught it. The bird was trapped inside a glass jar, and decorated with a holly bush, which was decorated with ribbons or colored paper.

“Early in the morning of St. Stephen’s Day, the wren was carried from house to house by the boys, who wore straw masks or blackened their faces with burnt cork, and dressed in old clothes (often women’s dresses). At each house, the boys sing the Wren Boys’ song. There are many versions and variations of this song. They performed for the family by singing, playing the tin whistle, telling a story, reciting poetry, and dancing. They then asked for alms. All the money collected by the village lads, was pooled, and spent to have a great big party once night fell. The following song is a staple in the entertainment:”

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,

On St. Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze,

Although he is little, his family is great

I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat.

My box would speak, if it had but a tongue,

And two or three shillings, would do it not wrong,

Sing holly, sing ivy – sing ivy, sing holly,

A drop just to drink, it would drown melancholy.

And if you draw it of the best,

I hope in heaven your soul will rest;

but if you draw it of the small,

It won’t agree with these wren boys at all. 

“If the youngsters were unable to capture a wren, they would cover a small potato with hen feathers and throw it in the jar, with a lot of holly. If the hosts discovered it was a fake, they would give you a trick instead of a treat.”

Denis Ledoux, Lisbon Falls 

“Boxing Day is not Canadian as much as it is English Canadian. It derives from England. The francophones do not observe it other than to take the day off. Like so many things in Canada, if the anglophones do it, it is called Canadian. Please don’t perpetuate the confusion of English Canadian with Canadian — not in Lewiston.”

Anna Hoyt Lyon, Auburn

“Boxing Day is ancient. It’s still celebrated in Britain and its former colonies as the day when you open the church poor box and distribute gifts to the needy. Not a bad idea when you think about it. But does it need to be a paid day off in a week that already has two paid holidays? Not if we want to keep our businesses in business.”

Daphne Izer, Lisbon

“I am originally from Newfoundland, Canada, and have lived in Lisbon for a number of years. 

“My relatives in Newfoundland are used to it now, but when I used to say, ‘I am going shopping’ and it happened to be Boxing Day, they couldn’t believe it. There are not any stores open on Boxing Day. It is a holiday there just like Christmas Day. 

“I am sure you have done your research, but Boxing Day is of British origin. There are many stories as to how it got its name. One is, gifts were boxed up and given to the servants or less fortunate. 

“I recall the mummering started on Boxing Day and it was fun going house-to-house and having people guess who you were. Then you got treated to fruit cake and a drop of ‘stuff.’ There is a song, ‘The Mummers Song,’ and if you go on YouTube, you would get a good laugh. 

“Not so much any more, but it used to be friends and neighbors would visit each other and that started on Boxing Day. Of course, eat the leftovers and ‘nurse’ the hangover on Boxing Day as well. Too bad it is not a holiday here in the U.S.”

Millie Bernier, Bath

“As I understand, Boxing Day in merry old England was the day that gifts were given to the servants (after all, they worked on Christmas Day), shopkeepers and vendors, and alms were given to the poor. 

“Growing up in Newfoundland, Christmas Day was devoted to the immediate family and visitors staying over. Boxing Day was when the aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family came to visit. Boxing Day brought more gifts for the children. It was almost as exciting as Christmas Day itself. Turkey leftovers, fish and chips, gravy and dressing, cakes, cookies and candy — a child couldn’t ask for more.

“The celebration continues through the week until New Year’s. You never know who will visit: That knock on the door may be Mummers who entertain with poetry, skits, music, song and dance. They are masked and in costume, and part of the fun is to guess who they are. Everyone leaves well stuffed and warmed by goodwill of the season.

“I still ‘keep’ Boxing Day, usually with an open house. I am still explaining the day to my American friends and family, but not able to convert many.”

James Myall, Bath

“Having grown up in Britain, I’m very familiar with Boxing Day, where we also celebrate it as a public holiday.  I was always told that the name comes from the tradition of churches opening their alms boxes on this day, and distributing money to the poor.  More practically, in my family, the extra day’s holiday allowed us to visit my mother’s family on one day and my father’s on the other — and therefore saved a lot of potential arguments! Alternatively, some people took advantage of a day off to hit the stores for the post-holiday sales (in the mold of Black Friday).  

“It has always seemed a little cheap to me that in the U.S. only one day is given over to Christmas. Leave it to the Puritanical American bosses to wring another day of labor out of their hardworking employees!”

Margaret Fletcher, Fredericton, New Brunswick

“My understanding always was that Boxing Day (the 26th of December), was the day that the ‘tradesmen,’ such as postmen, milkmen, paper boy, etc., came round to their customers’ houses and were given a ‘Christmas Box’ – usually in the form of money.

“As for the other questions, I had no idea that this was specifically an English custom from the UK — we do have it in Canada, although these days it is just a holiday and I am sure the young people have no idea of the origin. And as long as they have the day off work, they probably don’t even bother with the reason.

“I can remember, as a child, that the mailman would come ’round on Boxing Day and my parents would give him a gift. Yes, I guess I am really that old! Boxing Day, in our house, was the day the whole family went to the pantomime — another English tradition for Boxing Day.

“Pantomime is a children’s play — such as Peter Pan, Cinderella, etc. — where the leading man is a girl and the comic part — usually the stepmother or similar character — is played by a man. Sounds crazy, but I can remember enjoying the pantomime as a child. Don’t know whether they still have them.”

Sheila Patrick

“I was born in Newfoundland, which was a dominion of Great Britain. The day after Christmas was a holiday. That was the day that everyone ‘boxed’ their presents for their friends and relatives, then delivered them and visited with them and got to see their Christmas tree. I don’t know when this tradition started, but that was what I grew up with 82 years ago.”