Boxing Day (Dec. 26) in the USA

If you are a visitor from Great Britain, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, you are familiar with Boxing Day.  I, on the other hand, had never heard of it until a few years ago, when a dear friend on a Yahoo group added it to the calendar to be posted on December 26.  That's when I went looking for a good explanation of the day.

First, it does NOT mean the day to get rid of your leftover Christmas boxes, nor does it mean it's the day to duke it out with family who refuse to leave, nor does it mean it's a day to return boxes of unwanted gifts to the store for a refund or something you truly desire.  Instead, in the US (and even Canada), it is a day of deep discounts, usually up to 50% off most items.  Highly sought out Christmas ornaments, cards, and wrappings are what many shoppers are looking for.  After that, the most sought items include electronics and high end toys.

I started my day at a store we all love to hate: WalMart.  It is one of those groceries-only neighborhood markets, so I went there first.  I quickly learned not everything was half off, so I had to pass on some tea I was going to buy.  I could buy it at that price any day, except it had a Christmas name and was in with the Christmas reduced items.  I ended up getting tissue, some flash type cards, and a word search game.  I'll use these in my sewn books.  Of course, the gingerbread coffee sounded too good to pass up, but after the first cup, I was sorry I bought it.


Boxing Day roots can be traced to Britain, where it's also known as St. Stephen's Day.  Think of the song "Good King Wenceslas" where he saw a poor man in the snow, on the "Feast of Stephen."

This time, at Dollar General (at least I think that's the name of the store which is in the same shopping center as WalMart) I failed to ask about the discounts, because the woman told me everything in the area was 50% off.  However, the cards were only reduced 25% and there were no discounts on the ribbon or Sharpies.  Had I known, I would have passed on this entire trip.

Other than being able to trace the roots of Boxing Day to Great Britain, and the fact that less fortunate people were given gifts after Christmas, since friends and relatives got gifts either before or on Christmas, that is all that is really known for sure about this day.  Everything else is either speculation or conjecture.

Every year I buy a new Christmas tree to add to my collection.  But this year, I stopped at the thrift store, where all Christmas items were half price.  I was quite pleased that I didn't go overboard this year, even though I said I wasn't going to buy anything new.  Of course, these weren't new, so I felt that was OK.  The tree on the left holds a votive candle and the one on the right has a candle already built into it that has never been lit.  New to me, and less than $3.00 for two new trees!

Now that we have established Boxing Day was a British day to give a tip or present to the lower classes, this is where Boxing Day folklore gets a bit muddy.  Depending on who you choose to believe, there are varying theories of the origins.

My next stop was Dollar Tree, a store that boasts "Everything's a Dollar."  However, on this day, there were several items marked 50% off, including the photo stickers, the bells, the door hangers, and the chocolates (gotta have chocolates, even if they are some of the lowest grade you can buy).  I also bought more flash cards and a set of poster letters in which the packaging promptly fell apart.

Centuries ago, during feudal times, landowners (or manor lords) often brought everyone together for Christmas.  Since all the people who lived on the manor, mostly serfs, were in one place, it was easy to pass out the yearly necessities.  Each family got a box, depending on their status, and handing out supplies to the serfs was made easy for the manor lord.  In this scenario, the annual restocking became known as Boxing Day and was an obligation of the lord of the manor. 

While still in my neighborhood, I stopped by Ace Hardware and picked up three little trees I plan to use in an upcoming project, as well as a new nightlight and the last wrapping paper I will ever need in my lifetime!  I have to admit, this will be much easier than the kraft paper I stamped and wrapped my gifts in this year.

Since we're talking ancient times, another theory involves the merchant class, who often gave gifts to tradespeople or servants the day after Christmas, much like we give gifts or tips to our paper "boy" or person who tends our lawns or swimming pools.  Those gifts from days gone by were packed in boxes, so the day came to be known as Boxing Day.  In this scenario, the gift is strictly voluntary, and didn't involve an obligation.

Not too far from Ace Hardware, is Johnson's Garden Centers.  I stopped in there for some of my replacement flicker light bulbs.  I bought two strings several years ago and some of the lights have burned out over the years.  I keep replacing them, though, and will as long as Johnson's keeps selling them at Christmas.  BTW, these lights stay on year round and live on top of my two "kitchen" cabinets I keep in my dining room.

Another version of Boxing Day is that servants brought their own boxes to the master the day after Christmas.  Each master put small amounts of coins in the boxes.  This scenario is similar to the second theory above, in that the master was not obligated to give gifts or coins, and the servants did not depend on the master for their yearly food, clothing, and other necessities. 

My final stop was at JoAnn's, where I bought the bird cage, a cardinal stamp, the holiday stickers, holiday paper, and the snow kraft paper, all at 1/2 price.  I also bought two cards of buttons that were on clearance, and a spool of thread with my cents off coupon.  The thread is behind the bird cage, and you have to look hard to see it.

In yet another scenario, Boxing Day came about because seasonal donations were often placed in locked boxes in churches.  On Christmas, clergy would unlock and open the boxes, then distribute the contents the day after Christmas.

As you can see, most everything has been put away, in fact most everything immediately after I took photos of the specific store I visited.  One door hanger was broken, so I'll take it apart, and the poster letters will need a new home.  However, everything else is where it should be.

Still another scenario involves an old English tradition. Since servants had to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were given the next day off to visit their families. Each servant was given a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food.

Other than shopping till there was no tomorrow and doing serious (and I mean SERIOUS) damage to a gift card, I also checked all the stockings.  Why are there three?  I'm not sure.  It used to be if someone dropped by, they got a stocking to open, but lately, I have been gone on Christmas every year.  I think you can tell which one is Bleubeard's stocking.  Yep, it's the one with the balls.  NO SNICKERING ALLOWED.  Only I can snicker.

In many countries, especially those associated with the UK, Boxing Day is a bank holiday.  Of course, there is the shopping, but there is also the Rugby and Football (not like USA football, but what we call soccer).  There's also horse racing and fox hunting.  Although fox hunting has been banned since 2004 in the UK, there is an alternative hunt.

I can assure you, at least ONE gift will be well received this year.  Bleubeard now has his choice of new collars.  And they were purchased long before Boxing Day, too.

So which Boxing Day scenario do you prefer?  It's pretty obvious, I went all out for the first time in at least six years, and went Boxing Day shopping!