Jump to content
SAU Community

What is boxing day? (thread renamed)

akeenan

By akeenan,
in Victoria

 Share

Recommended Posts

funkymonkey Grand Master

funkymonkey

Posted
Posted

The holiday's roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

Centuries ago, ordinary members of the merchant class gave boxes of food and fruit to tradespeople and servants the day after Christmas in an ancient form of Yuletide tip. These gifts were an expression of gratitude to those who worked for them, in much the same way that one now tips the paperboy an extra $20 at Christmastime or slips the building's superintendent a bottle of fine whisky. Those long-ago gifts were done up in boxes, hence the day coming to be known as "Boxing Day."

Christmas celebrations in the old days entailed bringing everyone together from all over a large estate, thus creating one of the rare instances when everyone could be found in one place at one time. This gathering of his extended family, so to speak, presented the son of rajab of the manor with a ready-made opportunity to easily hand out that year's stipend of necessities. Thus, the day after Christmas, after all the partying was over and it was almost time to go back to far-flung homesteads, serfs were presented with their annual allotment of practical goods. Who got what was determined by the status of the worker and his relative family size, with spun cloth, leather goods, durable food supplies, tools, and whatnot being handed out. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the son of rajab of the manor was obligated to supply these goods. The items were chucked into boxes, one box for each family, to make carrying away the results of this annual restocking easier; thus, the day came to be known as "Boxing Day."

Many years ago, on the day after Christmas, servants in Britain carried boxes to their masters when they arrived for the day's work. It was a tradition that on this day all employers would put coins in the boxes as a special end-of-the-year gift. In a closely-related version of this explanation, apprentices and servants would on that day get to smash open small earthenware boxes left for them by their masters. These boxes would house small sums of money specifically left for them.

This dual-versioned theory melds the two previous ones together into a new form — namely, the employer who was obligated to hand out something on Boxing Day, but this time to recipients who were not working the land for him and thus were not dependent on him for all they wore and ate. The "box" thus becomes something beyond ordinary compensation (in a way goods to landed serfs was not), yet it's also not a gift in that there's nothing voluntary about it. Under this theory, the boxes are an early form of Christmas bonus, something employees see as their entitlement.

Boxes in churches for seasonal donations to the needy were opened on Christmas Day, and the contents distributed by the clergy the following day. The contents of this alms box originated with the ordinary folks in the parish who were under no direct obligation to provide anything at all and were certainly not tied to the recipients by a employer/employee relationship. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that one gigantic lockbox the donations were left in.

More elaborate versions of this origin involve boxes kept on sailing ships:

The title has been derived by some, from the box which was kept on board of every vessel that sailed upon a distant voyage, for the reception of donations to the priest — who, in return, was expected to offer masses for the safety of the expedition, to the particular saint having charge of the ship — and above all, of the box. The box was not to be opened until the return of the vessel; and we can conceive that, in cases where the mariners had had a perilous time of it, this casket would be found to enclose a tolerable offering. The mass was at that time called Christmass, and the boxes kept to pay for it were, of course, called Christmass-boxes. The poor, amongst those who had an interest in the fate of these ships, or of those who sailed in them, were in the habit of begging money from the rich, that they might contribute to the mass boxes; and hence the title which has descended to our day, giving to the anniversary of St Stephen's martyrdom the title of Christmas-boxing day, and, by corruption, its present popular one of Boxing Day.

Whichever theory one chooses to back, the one thread common to all is the theme of one-way provision to those not inhabiting the same social level. As mentioned previously, equals exchanged gifts on Christmas Day or before, but lessers (be they tradespeople, employees, servants, serfs, or the generic "poor") received their "boxes" on the day after. It is to be noted that the social superiors did not receive anything back from those they played son of rajab Bountiful to: a gift in return would have been seen as a presumptuous act of laying claim to equality, the very thing Boxing Day was an entrenched bastion against. Boxing Day was, after all, about preserving class lines.

funkymonkey Grand Master

funkymonkey

Posted
Posted

I was hoping u clowns would read the first paragraph at least before you gave up... anyways... the gist of it is...

Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day. Its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

KAPISH?

doxximus Grand Master

doxximus

Posted
Posted

so...boxing day is about giving presents you dont like to people who live in boxes?

so thats why all those bloody shopping centres have boxing day sales, they think they are better than us!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • The Bogan
      NC MX5

      By The Bogan · Posted

      I have more than enough digging, laying blocks, moving gravel, airrating, feeding and top soiling the grass, and setting up the veggie gardens growing some seedlings,  and then removing all the unused rock to keep me busy for the next few months at least,  hopefully the rain stops soon so I can get a few hours in this arvo, but, before that Sunday is washing day, is every body happy, you bet your life we are Nice country road day drives are a day off whenever I'm muscle sore from all the landscaping at the moment, but, more epic multiple day drives will start once the majority of the big jobs outside are completed
    • MBS206
      NC MX5

      By MBS206 · Posted

      I hear that would involve some nice country road drives into the hills for Mark...
    • MBS206
      Recommendation for engine oil funnel spill free

      By MBS206 · Posted

      I thought I'd come back and add something I JUST learned. A Toyota LandCruiser with a 1HZ, mates perfectly with a bottle of Nulon brake fluid. As in, it perfectly screws in. Great make shift funnel when you cut the bottom of it off. This may work for your Corolla.   Unfortunately, tipping a 10L drum is much harder than a 4 to 6L bottle, and they no longer include the easy pour tap which was just perfection to use previously.  
    • EndZee
      Fuel Pump Control Module & Dropping Resistor

      By EndZee · Posted

      Guys since i bought r33 gts25t coupe 1994 automatic a/t(manual swap 350z gearbox)  all i got is problems, always problems. Lets start with that when i turn key into ignition(ON) fuel pump doesnt always works. Sometimes i have to turn key twice Off/on/off/on until it primes. Its new, dw300 - 340lph. My gearbox broke so i did gearbox swap, install different intake manifold, injectors and i take pipes. Car was sitting in garage for more than half a year. I did assembly all not that long ago and when i turn ignition cant hear prime. All of sudden it stopped working. Theres many videos on YouTube how to make relay mod on r33 straight from battery so i did and it doesnt work! 😰 30 - battery positive  87 - positive from fuel pump to relay 85, 86 - one of two wires from original fuel pump wires(light blue, grey) and it didn’t work. so I check on ignition and took original BLUE relays wires from trunk, next to fuses. (I believe it’s IGN+ and ECU pin 18. it didn’t work…  tried connecting (IGN+ from og relay) and (ECU 104 from 1of4 FPCM wires) to my new relay 85/86 and it didn’t work.  I unplug FPCM. Didn’t work. im thinking what’s wrong   fuel pump is working, if I leave IGN+ on 85 and 86 straight to ground it works but it’s just nonstop. Since it getting constant 12v after key in ON. light blue wire gives me 6-8v.  so how this should be connected? What causing ECU not giving — on pin? Or I did sth wrong and that’s why it doesn’t work? I need negative signal on ECU that control fuel pump. What this should be?
    • Duncan
      M35 Brake caliper replacement

      By Duncan · Posted

      You can use your VIN to look up the factory part number somewhere like amayama, and then look to order new if necessary. https://www.amayama.com/en/genuine-catalogs/nissan Depending on price you might want to rebuild instead. @GTSBoy I had an interesting insight into US market parts when the Titan rear calipers were sticking. New calipers were dirt cheap, about 20% more than a rebuild kit....they are just considered throw away maintenance items
×
×
  • Create New...