Boxing Day: A second Christmas for revellers

| Last updated less than one minute ago

Submit :

News Photos Just In Debate Topic Latest News Articles Local News Blog Posts Pictures Reviews Recipes

Dr. Lalit kishore

26 December, 2010

PROMOTED FOR charity and now encroached upon by the retailers, Boxing Day is observed generally on December 26. But if, it is Saturday or Sunday on that date, then the following Monday is observed as a Boxing Day.

The tradition of Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day began in the nineteenth century in the UK as away for the upper and rich class to give old goods, gifts,food, clothes or cash in 'boxes' to those of the lower classes and poor. The observance of Boxing Day as a commercial activity as clearance sales has spread through out the world. In addition, churches opened their alms boxes on this day and distributed the contents to the poor.

Due to the commercialisation of the tradition, these days, Boxing Day is spent with family and friends at shopping malls that are opened for selling reduced priced goods, Christmas gifts, and decorations.

With e-commerce coming into practice with the modern computer age, the online version of Boxing Day or Cyber Boxing Day has come into being. It is reported that in the UK Boxing Day was the busiest online shopping day of the year in 2008.

With the organised civil society institutions and NGOs around, many businesses, rich people and well-to-do families donate their time, services, and money to aid Food Banks and provide gifts for the poor, or child sponsorship programmes.