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Boxing Day: Holidays
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Boxing Day is the name given to the December 26th public holiday, which was identical to the exchange of gifts that would normally occur on this day. It falls on the day after Christmas and is ... known as the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Boxing Day is one of the few British holidays, recognized since 1871, which is observed by banks, government offices as well as the post office.
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Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. It's a holiday in the United Kingdom, Canada, and many other Commonwealth nations. The actual origin of this holiday isn't clear, and there are two good explanations.
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Debunking the myth that Boxing Day, the December 26th holiday, has anything to do with empty boxes. Learn about the history and traditions of this British holiday, once celebrated by giving gifts to the poor and needy.
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Although the same legislation (Bank Holidays Act 1871) originally established the Bank Holidays throughout the British Isles, the holiday after Christmas was defined as Boxing Day in England and Wales and St. Stephen's Day for Ireland. St. Stephen's Day is fixed as the 26 December.[10]
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Tracing the origin of the term Boxing Day, the present-day name for the British holiday held on December 26. Discusses what a 17th-century Christmas box was, and how box became a verb. With quotes from the Oxford English Dictionary.
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Traditionally, Boxing Day was a holiday on which servants, apprentices and the poor were presented with gifts. The origin of the name is not known for certain, but it may derive from the opening of alms boxes that had been placed in churches over the holidays for distribution to the poor.
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