Boxing Day, when is that then?
Discussion
)OK after a quick Google
Find this very odd though.
>> Edited by Mrs Fish on Wednesday 15th December 09:21
google said:
When: December 26th. However, some people will celebrate it on the first weekday after Christmas. If Christmas falls on a Friday or a Saturday, Boxing Day is the following Monday.
Boxing Day is celebrated in England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other former British commonwealth countries. It is a legal holiday in these countries. This is also St. Stephans Day, where Boxing Day gets some of it's roots. On St. Stephans' Day, churches opened their collection boxes to the poor.
Boxing Day was an expression of appreciation and thanks, much like Christmas tips are today.
The roots of the holiday goes back to the Middle Ages . On this day, members of the merchant class would take boxes, fill them with food and fruits, and give them to servants, tradespeople and the less fortunate. In the case of servants, they would work on Christmas Day, so it was only fitting that immediately after Christmas, they would be given a day off to celebrate. Usually celebrated the day after Christmas, some would celebrate the following Monday when Christmas fell on a Friday or Saturday.
Today, the giving of boxes includes filling boxes with food and clothing for the needy and performing volunteer work. Monetary gifts to charity are also common.
Find this very odd though.
>> Edited by Mrs Fish on Wednesday 15th December 09:21
Mrs Fish said:
So why do the three calendars I have all say Boxing Day on Sunday?
Lisa, the sunday is boxing day but because it's a sunday you get the monday off as the bank holiday
(my diary says sunday 26th boxing day
monday 27th Public holiday in lieu)
>> Edited by raf dug on Wednesday 15th December 09:29
There is a large argument going on with my Family at the moment.
We have arranged to meet up the day after Boxing Day, so some people thought that we were meeting on the Tuesday others on the Monday. I know its just a communication issue and would have been easily resolved if we had just spoken to each other more, but we are family after all and it is Christmas!
I wouldn’t mind but I was going flying on the Tuesday, now I have to see my sister and her family and get drooled on by her dogs, eeeeeeewwwwwwwww!
( I don’t really mind, just making it out to be more than it is )
We have arranged to meet up the day after Boxing Day, so some people thought that we were meeting on the Tuesday others on the Monday. I know its just a communication issue and would have been easily resolved if we had just spoken to each other more, but we are family after all and it is Christmas!
I wouldn’t mind but I was going flying on the Tuesday, now I have to see my sister and her family and get drooled on by her dogs, eeeeeeewwwwwwwww!
( I don’t really mind, just making it out to be more than it is )
This is what I thought! FrenchTVR said:
I think you will find that Monday is BH in lieu of Christmas day as that is on the Saturday and the Tuesday is a BH in lieu of Boxing day.
I wait to be corrected
No correction needed - you're spot on.
Technically, Christmas Day is always the 25th and Boxing Day always the 26th.
If either or both of these fall on a weekend, the UK public holiday is shifted to the nearest following weekday, so this year we have 27th and 28th as public holidays.
To complicate matters, some people choose to celebrate "boxing day" on the first weekday following Christmas Day. Where the 26th is a weekday, this is fine. Where the 26th is a weekend, confusion can arise. i.e. this year these folk will be celebrating Boxing Day on the 27th, which happens to be a public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day!
pdV6 said:
I think you will find that Monday is BH in lieu of Christmas day as that is on the Saturday and the Tuesday is a BH in lieu of Boxing day.
I wait to be corrected
No correction needed - you're spot on.
Technically, Christmas Day is always the 25th and Boxing Day always the 26th.
If either or both of these fall on a weekend, the UK public holiday is shifted to the nearest following weekday, so this year we have 27th and 28th as public holidays.
To complicate matters, some people choose to celebrate "boxing day" on the first weekday following Christmas Day. Where the 26th is a weekday, this is fine. Where the 26th is a weekend, confusion can arise. i.e. this year these folk will be celebrating Boxing Day on the 27th, which happens to be a public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day!
Basically Boxing Day was given as a day off by the rich to the poor. Being a bit harsh having your day off fall on the Holy Day (it mattered back then), which generally servants got off or at least was not quite as bad as the rest of the week; the rich often let the underlings have the monday off, and re-named the Sunday after Christmas (if Christmas fell on Friday or Saturday) as Christmas Sunday...
Uncultured yoofs!
Uncultured yoofs!
Christmas day is January 6th anyway. It got changed to Decemebr 25th in the 4th century to spite pagans who celebrated a feast dedicated to the birth of the sun on December 25th. Then the calender got changed in 1740 so the real date got shifted again. It amuses and annoys me that religious types cant even be bothered to get the date right, it should be considered as important. December 25th is not Christmas day, which suits our commercial environment just fine, but why does organised religion tolerate it on the wrong day?
Er...what day is boxing day again?
Er...what day is boxing day again?
Being Irish, I find the term "Boxing Day" rather weird. In Ireland, like most other Catholic countries, it was always called "St Stephen's Day". No doubt, this was changed in England sometime after the reformation as all "Saints'" days were abolished by the Church of England as being too "Popish".
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