December 26th: Boxing Day

Boxing Day is celebrated in the majority of the English Commonwealth[1], but it is an official holiday in Canada. There are various theories to the origin of this day. The “box” in boxing day might have referred to a gift[2] box an employer would give to his workers (possibly originating in the Middle Ages, when a lord was required to give his serfs[3] practical goods in a box), or to a box servants would carry around with them for their employers to fill with money donations for gifts. Or the name may have referred to the Christmas tradition of opening the church donation box, whose charity would be given to the poor the next day. Nowadays, stores take advantage of the day off to offer sales[4] to get rid of[5] their Christmas-season products.

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[1] Mancomunidad, [2] regalo, [3] siervos, [4] ofertas, [5] deshacerse de