Boxing Day
December 26th is Boxing Day, a national holiday, in Britain and Ireland which is spent with family and friends usually not seen on Christmas Day. Boxing Day is steeped in history and tradition. There are many theories as to why December 26th is called Boxing Day. A Christmas box in Britain is the name for a Christmas present. Boxing Day was a day off for the servants and is when they received a Christmas from their master. The servants would go home to give Christmas Boxes to their families. A box was used to collect money for the poor and was placed in churches on Christmas Day and then opened the next day. Great sailing ships, when setting sail, would have a sealed box containing money on board for good luck. If the voyage was successful then the box was given to a priest, opened on Christmas and the contents were given to the poor.
Today, Boxing Day has become synonymous with sports. Many top football teams play on Boxing Day. Horse racing is particularly popular with races taking place all over the country. Boxing Day is also a time when the British exhibit their true eccentricity by taking part in all sorts of silly activities such as swimming the English Channel, fun runs and charity events. Until 2004, Boxing Day fox hunts were a traditional part of Boxing Day. The ban on fox hunting has put an end to the hunt in its traditional sense. Fox hunters will still gather dressed in red hunting coats to the sound of the hunting horn, but it is now forbidden to chase the fox with dogs. The dogs now just follow artificially laid trails.
In Ireland, Boxing Day is known as, St. Stephen’s Day,” and it is famous for the “Wren Boys.” St Stephen was killed, purportedly by being stoned to death, for believing in Jesus. In Ireland the Wren Boys would go out, with blackened faces, and stone wrens to death and then carry the dead wren around town knocking on doors and asking for money. The killing of wrens has now stopped, but the Wren Boys still dress up and parade around the town collecting money for charity.
With guests often dropping by for a snack and a quick drink the food and drink on Boxing Day is more relaxed than on Christmas Day. Lunch will usually be a buffet or leftovers from Christmas. Baked ham is a popular Boxing Day meat and, of course, mince pies with brandy butter or a slice of Christmas cake are almost obligatory.
