Boxing Day is a Christmas season custom originating in Britain, and persisting in former British colonial dominions, with the earliest known reference coming in 1833. There are two main theories to explain this observance.
One idea is that December 26 was the day centuries ago when lords of the manor and aristocrats typically distributed “Christmas boxes” often filled with small gifts, money and leftovers from Christmas dinner to their household servants and employees, who were required to work on December 25, in recognition of good service throughout the year. These boxes were, in essence, holiday bonuses. Another popular theory is that the Boxing Day moniker arose from the alms boxes that were placed in churches during the Advent season for the collection of monetary donations from parishioners. Clergy members distributed the contents of the boxes to the poor on December 26, which is also the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr and a figure known for acts of charity. (Ireland celebrates December 26 as St. Stephen’s Day.)
There’s also a Druid’s explanation for the Boxing Day phenomenon.
Boxing Day is, in reality an ancient Pagan festival celebrated right across Europe to honour the Great Mother. The box is a later misinterpretation of the womb, which the original containers can be seen to resemble. Or they would be seen to resemble if we had any, which we don’t, but as soon as one shows up it will of course be blindingly obvious.
In the modern era Boxing Day has become an extra day off for the holiday, and another opportunity to eat, drink, watch sports and take advantage of post-Christmas retail sales.
Boxing Day in the United States seems to be associated in the main with Ireland, perhaps because immigration patterns subsequent to our 18th-century separation from the British royal family overwhelmingly reflected the Irish diaspora.
But as you might imagine, it’s complicated. The northern Irish counties in Ulster have a high percentage of Protestants compared with the remainder of Ireland, and Ulster remains wedded to the United Kingdom (where December 26 is celebrated as Boxing Day). As noted above, Catholics in the Republic of Ireland regard the 26th as St. Stephen’s Day (or “Wren Day”) — although, of course, there are Catholics aplenty in Northern Ireland, too.
As a result, there’s a strong case to be made for an ecumenical American understanding of Boxing Day, in which we all agree to eat, drink and be merry on the day after Christmas, whatever it may be called elsewhere, if at all.
Why not take an extra day for frivolity (and calories) before returning to work?
Consequently here in The ‘Ville, The Irish Rover (2319 Frankfort Avenue) began celebrating Boxing Day more than two decades ago with a traditional Irish breakfast, adult libations and music. Alas, the Rover’s event calendar has been altered overall since the advent of COVID, as explained at the pub’s web site.
Stout Fest, Boxing Day, Nollaig na mBan???
We’d love to bring back these beloved traditions, but the amount of regular business since Covid does not support the amount of staff needed to put on these special events properly. This is also why we no longer use our private party space and why our St. Patrick’s Day celebration no longer includes indoor service. We don’t love it, but needs must….if the situation changes, you’ll be the first to know
Maybe someday. Meanwhile, Googling “Boxing Day” in Louisville requires adaptive and improvisational internet skills, as the relentlessly clueless algorithm insists on directing one to all things Muhammad Ali and UFC pay-per-views.
This year I’ve not seen any promotional activity in metro Louisville connected to Boxing Day, although I’ve refused to take a machete to the social media thicket. Let me know if something has been missed and I’ll revise this post, although in truth, Boxing Day can be anywhere on the 26th, as long as you’re there and they’re open for business.
Cover photo: Boxing Day at the 4077th M*A*S*H; episode #223, 28 December 1981.
