I am American and as I read the Harry Potter books Boxing Day is always mentioned (it's on my calandar too, only italicized because I think it's for Canada). Anyway, I've wondered what boxing day's for and since some of you out there are from a country that celebrates it... I thought I should take advantage! Sorry this only indirectly related to HP!

i was reading gof and game across Boxing day and was going to start a tread asking that same qusetion i would like to know to.

In England boxing day is December the 26th and traditionally is when you open presents (they usually come in boxes). The 25th would be reserved for more religious activities. I'm American too but I'm pretty sure that's right.

This December 26 holiday is observed in Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand.

According to the World Book Encyclopedia, "the traditional celebration of Boxing Day included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs." Typically, people give presents to postal workers or spend the day volunteering.

The World Book Encyclopedia also states that although the holiday may date from the Middle Ages (A.D. 400s - 1500s), the exact origin is unknown. A number of theories attempt to explain how the day came to be, all centering around the idea of boxes and giving to the less fortunate.

Boxing Day coincides with Saint Stephen's Day. Although some sites we encountered didn't differentiate between the two, they are two distinct holidays with different customs and celebrations. Saint Stephen's Day, a national holiday in Ireland, honors the first Christian martyr and was traditionally celebrated with a feast and the hunting and killing of a wren.

Information obtained through Yahoo.com.

Well, speaking as one of the very few (sadly) British people here......

Boxing Day, yep, is celebrated on the 26th December over here and it is a Bank Holiday...one of several we have through the year. No, we don't open presents on Boxing Day - we open them on Christmas morning, the same as everyone else does really. There's very little religious activity as such on Christmas Day here....only if you happen to be a very strongly religious person.....I know a lot of people like to attend Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. But there's nowhere near the emphasis on going to church or doing anything particularly religious on Christmas Day here....nowhere near as much as in the States, for example. Christmas is very commercialised these days....you'd be amazed how many kids over here think that 'Jesus' is a swear word.....that's a pretty sad state of affairs, isn't it? And this is coming from someone who isn't particularly religious herself....

Anyway, to get back to the question....Boxing Day here is a little bit like Thanksgiving, I guess.....it's a time when families get together for dinner or something without the stress associated with Christmas Day...it's more the calm after the storm, you know? Although it's also traditionally a day of sports too....there's always rugby and football on the TV....very boring.

Yes, everything that eedoe said.....but also, I thought it had something to do with the fact that years ago....(most Christmas traditions stem from the Victorian era)....the servants of the house were so busy during Christmas Day taking care of the big posh family 'upstairs' that they didn't have time to open their own presents or celebrate themselves....so, Boxing Day would be the day when they would get to have their own celebrations and open their Christmas 'boxes'....hence 'Boxing Day'.....

Most of the time though, Boxing Day is one long pub-crawl....it's a better night out than New Year's....

sorry, what's Boxing days?

You've got to be kidding me........I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.

Hey that's really fascinating! I feel so cultured now. (yeah I'm lame) lol now I can read the books without getting distracted by the fact that I had no idea what they were celebrating. Though I'd imagine that JKR won't be writing about Harry Ron and Hermione out bar-hopping anytime soon
I don't know about the rest of America but it seems that around where I live, people go to midnight mass or church in the a.m. and then get together with family later on. (in my family it's an all day event lol) The day after Christmas there is a lot of sleeping and SHOPPING.

Very cool, I've always wondered what Boxing day was, now I know. I'm American and Catholic, and I think of myself as religious in the best possiable way. Being forgiving and compassionate is what being any denomation of chirstainity is about...or should be. Any way, the bar(or pub)-hopping is createing a very funny image in my mind, that involves them giggling and faliing over. He he.::sigh:: yeah. But I think to shop affert Chirtmas. Me and my sister get one gift and money for these past two years, I'm thinking they'll do the same this year. My gift last year was the Soccer's Stone. I was so happy. Wow I've been reading the books for a year.

Yeah, I'm from Canada, and even though we celebrate it, I'm not exactly sure what it's for nowadays. I asked my mum and she said that it's when presents were traditionally opened. Same as what Dana said. It's still a holiday off from work and stuff, and obviously from school, but it doesn't really serve any purpose. Plus, I'm not really old enough to go bar-hopping. Soon!

Boxing Day now mainly consists of playing the Sims and calling every single person you know to thank them and compare presents. As Dana said, it really is the calm before the storm. That point when the house is still an utter disaster area with wrapping paper, toys, candy, people, garbage bags, boxes, stockings, blankets, pillows and housecoats lying around. It's very amusing trying to get dinner ready that night. It's all just before the rush to clean up and finish homework.

Thank goodness, I only have one more week of school...argh. Anyway, just wanted to say something...XD And midnight mass is just beautiful. It's the only time of the year I actually go to church!

GO CANADA! i am Canadian and i was told when i was young that boxing day is when people would traditionally box everything up...since it being on the 26th, and christmas is over and all.
i don't think that it's much of a celebration, just you know...a lazy day when we all admire what we got for christmas, then cook a yummykins dinner.

what Dana and Luparius said about opening your presents on the 26th sounds more realistic than putting everything away though.

My friends celebrate boxing day as the day when they box up all of the old things that they don't want to make room for the new gifts they just got. The old then go to some charity. My Aunt celebrates it as the day all the christmas decorations come down so that her birthday decorations can go up.

Boxing day is just like the day after christmas where( in my case) you finish off the christmas dinner and finish opening the rest of you oresents. Im english but the real meaning of boxing day has never really been explained to me lol. odd.

I just have to add my input to this discussion... We selebrate Boxing Day here in Finland too. We just call it differently (not saint what's it's though). 26. is traditionally a day when people go out to meet friends and not so close family. This tradition was started when people still lived in villages an rode horsecarriages. On this "Tapaninpäivä" they went to see neighbours and brought them their gifts.
I have to add that not everybody open their presents on Christmas morning... Since Santa is from Finland (from Korvatunturi) He comes to our homes on Christmas eve 24. and we open our presents then. Then we go to Christmas mass early in the morning of 25. and we spent that day with our close family.
It's allways nice to hear other traditions. It really does expand ones cultural knowledge.

Wait... Santa is from Finland? i thought he lived in the North Pole. I'm actually really schoked by this... this is new to me... My family celebrates boxing day. Actually i just told my parents we should... and we have our neighbrors over and exchange gifts with our friends. Not traditional per se, but i think it's kind of the same

keepstar dont worry the American/Canadian Santa does live in the North Pole still LOL it is the European Santa that lives in Findland...my fiancee is Polish...and his Santa did come from Findland...however we have one in America/Canada too who lives in the North Pole...so not to worry...I guess there is just more than one...and they each take care of their own continent

To add to this..I also heard that Boxing day was a day that more wealthy people brought old stuff to churches and what not and the people would box the old stuff and give it to the peasent people the day after Christmas..since they all got new stuff (hence Boxing Day) and thats why we have sales that start that day because its remembering..the giving old and getting new (even if its discounted) maybe thats a Canadian thing though...

This is quite an old topic to be posting to, but I think there is a key thing being left out here. I understand boxing day is a day after schristmas when everyone spends time with their families. But, in Canada and England, boxing day is a day when the royal servants get to go home to their families, cause they don't get to celebrate X mas on x mas day! It is also very important because it gives children (like me) extra time of from school. It is a day when all the sales go on at the mall too, and then, you pull out your x mas gift cards and blow of huge money. (With huge discounts) Too bad for me, last boxing day all the HP scene it games were sold out. Oh well. Again, sorry I posted this so much after the last post, but I want to give my answer.

Lachy

so it is the day that the royal servants get off? I never knew that and always wondered when they got to celebrate with their families. Thanks Lachlan. The big sales aren't just in Canada Pigwidgeon, we have amazing sales here in the U.S. too. All christmas stuff is 50-75% off and a lot of other stuff is discounted too. It is one of the best days to go shopping, along with the 4th of July (U.S. Independence day) and the day after Thanksgiving!

wow pixy, it is busy here but not quite that crazy, it only take about 5 minutes to find a parking space. One of the big theaters in Denver is like that all the time. They share a parking lot with a Barnes and Noble bookstore and it always takes forever to find a space.

We celebrate it here...when i asked mum why it was called boxing day (when i was very little) shetold me that on christmas we open all our presents and on boxing day we take out all the boxes. (rubbish) and that what i have always thought.

Here in New Zealand we do absolutely nothing on Boxing Day. I don't know of anyone that does. I've never really known the meaning of the day either. It is when shops are open again with huge clearances though so lots of people go shopping. Haha.

*col*

^^ I agree with you *col*

I LOVE Boxing Day actually - everything is such a chaos on Christmas Day and the B-D is the day where everyone just relaxes, yep, basically do nothing.

Also another traditional thing about B-D, which I don't know if that is the case with others, but we finish off the leftovers - ham, turkey etc etc and turn it another beautiful meal.

Pixymajik says it perfectly about the sales/shopping - it's a NIGHTMARE. Once I tried to see a new release movie on that day and it took ages to park so I was like nup, never again on that day...Then I remind myself later on that it is the same day that the cricket match starts, therefore, all the guys in my family have the possession of the TV so ahhhhh... so boring...

It sounds as though Boxing Day in the UK holds the same 'traditions' as it does in Australia ! Shopping in the sales!!

I do not under any circumstance leave home on Boxing Day. It's a day for leftover Turkey, rubbish TV, relatives or friends you didn't see the day before. But for me it's a day to just relax and eat chocolate!!

We do not have Boxing Day here in the US but it sounds very close to our Black Friday. This is the day after our Thanksgiving holiday. People sit around all day watching TV and eating Turkey & Ham left over from the day before.

The other side of the day is shopping. Only the brave venture out to do shopping that day. Stores run big sales to kick off the Christmas shopping spree. Stores are overrun with people trying to get the mechandise before it sells out. Fights break out among shoppers when the stuff is running out. Not a pretty sight.

i live in northern ireland and i thought boxing day is the day you throw out all the boxes from the day before. i dont know though...
i used to think it was the day you went boxing because you were so happy that you got presents. that was really long ago.

yeah i live in northern ireland as well and you open your presents on the 25th. i dont know about boxing day though.
yes animemaster446 i think youre right