December 17, 1663 was a particularly busy day for Samuel Pepys. On top of being in charge of victualling” the British Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, he also had to make sure his own Christmas food and gift needs were met.
Luckily for history, Pepys was a devoted diarist and he faithfully recorded his activities, both mundane and historically significant.
He described part of his day: “Thence by coach to my shoemaker’s and paid all there, and gave something to the boys’ box against Christmas.”
This became one of the first historical references to Boxing Day.
Today, while many countries Commonwealth traditions offer Boxing Day as a holiday, it was an especially important day off for staff in Pepys’ day. They all had to work on Christmas Day to ensure the day was “happy and bright” for the gentry and upper classes. Who else would empty the chamber pots, keep the fireplaces stoked and prepare and serve the glorious Christmas feast?
On December 26, while the gentry slept off the over-indulgences of the day before, tradesmen and house staff finally got to celebrate their own Christmas. One tradition was to open boxes their employers had filled with gifts, money, hand-me-downs and even some leftover food from Christmas dinner.
Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day. And it was Good King Wencelas who, back in the 10th century, made that day famous as a day of gift-giving.
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the Feast of Stephen...
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel...
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine-logs hither
Thou and I shall see him dine
When we bear them thither."
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye, who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.
Call it St. Stephen's Day or Boxing Day, but it is supposed to be a time when we do acts of charity for those less fortunate than us.
If you venture out on Boxing Day today, both of those traditions seem to be lost. It used to be that Boxing Day truly was the second day of Christmas. Stores were closed and everyone simply enjoyed another day of rest or playing with their presents. Boxing Day sales were postponed to December 27. Now, however, many people’s Boxing Day tradition includes shopping the sales at stores that open bright and early to accommodate the crowds (and deal with all the boxes of returned sweaters that weren’t the right size.)
Christmas Day is a statutory holiday across Canada. Ontario is the only province that has Boxing Day as a statutory holiday. (Ontario doesn’t extend the same courtesy on Remembrance Day.) However, many employers do offer the day as a paid holiday and, if you work for the federal government or a bank, it is also a stat.
This year, many workers are particularly blessed by the timing of the holidays which, because of how they fall on the calendar, provide a four-day weekend.
