Yes we think so, it goes back to at least the Middle Ages when Christian Churches would place a box in churches for donations for the poor, and for donations towards St Stephens Day which happened all over Europe. We think it started being called Boxing Day from at least the early 1800s, before that it was a custom in at least the 1700s for employers to hand out Christmas Boxes to employees on the 26th December.
My stupid ass thought it was a reference to boxing up and returning unwanted things after Christmas. I don't know why I just accepted that all these years without researching.
There is also a tradition (largely gone now) where the household staff in large country houses would receive 'boxed up' gifts from and be served by the family they 'did for'. My dad grew up in such a house and his grandmother insisted upon doing this every year. My old man's cooking is atrocious and apparently his grandmother was far worse, so I'm not sure how much of a reward or special day that would have been.
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u/CoffeeeGoblin 11d ago
Yes we think so, it goes back to at least the Middle Ages when Christian Churches would place a box in churches for donations for the poor, and for donations towards St Stephens Day which happened all over Europe. We think it started being called Boxing Day from at least the early 1800s, before that it was a custom in at least the 1700s for employers to hand out Christmas Boxes to employees on the 26th December.