Boxing Day, eh?

So today was a new holiday for me:  Boxing Day.   Being only vaguely familiar with the holiday I wasn't sure if I was supposed to celebrate by packing up my shit or punching somebody in the face.

So I did neither.

Instead, I learned about the holiday via the wonder that is Wikipedia.  Here's what I found out:

Boxing Day is a bank and public holiday in the U.K., Australia, Canada, Ghana, Switzerland, Germany, Greenland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a primarily Christian population.

There are several theories as to the etymology of the name.  Some think it derives from an old English tradition, where, in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, their servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses, and sometimes leftover food.  Because of this the gentry would eat cold cuts in a buffet-style feast prepared by the servants in advance.  Several families still celebrate the holiday with this kind of a meal.

Another theory stems from the nineteenth century Victorian tradition in the U.K., where, on the day after Christmas, tradesmen collected their "Christmas boxes", or gifts, in return for good and reliable service throughout the year.

Another possibility is that it comes from the tradition, started in the 1800s, where churches opened their alms boxes and distributed the contents to the poor on this day.  Consequently, the traditional celebration has long included giving money and gifts to the needy and those in service positions.

In Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and some states of Australia, Boxing Day is now considered a shopping holiday, similar to "Black Friday" in the U.S.

Thus endeth today's Wiki-history lesson.