Boxing Day: Difference between revisions

In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year.<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1953 "Boxing day"</ref> This is mentioned in [[Samuel Pepys]]' diary entry for 19 December 1663.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/12/19/ |title=Saturday 19&nbsp;December 1663 (Pepys' Diary) |date=19 December 2006 |publisher=Pepysdiary.com |access-date=26 December 2010}}</ref> This custom is linked to an older British tradition where the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families since they would have had to serve their masters on Christmas Day. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. Until the late 20th century, there continued to be a tradition among many in the UK to give a [[Christmas gift]], usually cash, to vendors, although not on Boxing Day, as many would not work on that day.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Boxing Day and it's surprising facts|url=https://www.shoppersinusa.com/2021/12/boxing-day-and-its-surprising-facts.html|access-date=2021-12-07|website=shoppersinusa}}</ref>

Several [[ice hockey]] contests are associated with the day. The [[IIHF World Junior Championship]] typically begins on 26 December, while the [[Spengler Cup]] also begins on 23 December in [[Davos]], Switzerland; the Spengler Cup competition includes [[HC Davos]], [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Team Canada]], and other top European Hockey teams. The [[National Hockey League]] traditionally had close to a full slate of games (10 were played in 2011<ref>{{cite web|title=NHL Hockey Schedule for December 26, 2011|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/schedulebyday.htm?date=12/26/2011|access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref>), following the league-wide days off given for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, the 2013 collective bargaining agreement (which followed [[2012-13 NHL lockout|a lock-out]]) extended the league mandate of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off to include Boxing Day, except when it falls on a Saturday, in which case the league can choose to make 23 December a league-wide off day instead for that year.<ref name="NHL CBA">{{cite web|title=National Hockey League CBA|url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/en/v3/ext/CBA2012/NHL_NHLPA_2013_CBA.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.nhl.com/nhl/en/v3/ext/CBA2012/NHL_NHLPA_2013_CBA.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |page=101—not digital page 101 but the printed 101 |publisher=[[National Hockey League]] |access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref> In Sweden, the related sport of [[bandy]] is also associated with the day, with [[Saint Stephen's Day bandy]] games having become an established tradition.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annandagsidrott med traditioner |url=https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2017-12-26/annandagsidrott-med-traditioner |access-date=March 1, 2020 |website=sydsvenskan.se|date=26 December 2017 }}</ref>