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Boxing Day: Hockey Canada
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Boxing day is celebrated in England, Canada, Australia, Scotland, and South Africa. It is either held on December 26th, or on the first weekday after Christmas, depending on local tradition. Gifts and monetary donations are given to the needy, and government offices and many businesses are closed (but not the malls). Small gifts may be given, particularly to children.
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Boxing Day in the UK is traditionally a day for sporting activity, originally fox hunting, but as this is now banned, alternative hunts take place. Football, horse racing and Rugby (both codes) are ... played. Boxing Day is also the start of the IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championship.
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Boxing Day has a pedigree, actually. Canada and the other Brits traditionally give their hired help gifts on Dec. 26. According to some, the notion comes from Rome's orgiastic Saturnalia when lord and slave reversed roles, a tradition in turn going to the days when a sacred king was ritually sacrificed at the winter solstice and conveniently found a stand-in, or surrogate for the fatal day.I've been Bermuda celebrates(d) the orgy with a nude boy-girl rugby game.
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As an exception, most retail stores are not permitted to open on Boxing Day in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2006, Nova Scotia eliminated a similar ban on Boxing Day openings, although most retailers elected to continue past practice and remain closed that day. In these provinces, most stores offer the same specials on December 27 that they would offer elsewhere on the 26th. This distinction is not well known in central and western Canada.[10]
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As an exception, most retail stores are not permitted to open on Boxing Day in Atlantic Canada, nor in some Ontario communities. The Nova Scotia government eliminated its ban on Boxing Day openings in 2006; ... most retailers voluntarily remained closed. The ban was reinstated in 2007.[12] In these areas, most stores offer the same specials on December 27 that they would offer elsewhere on the 26th. This distinction is not well known in central and western Canada.[13]
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These days Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and New Zealand all observe Boxing Day. The day is usually spent with friends and family sharing food and friendship. Government offices and many businesses are closed so people can exchange gifts or spend time shopping at the malls, which remain open.
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