Boxing Day

[Ines]

[align=left]Boxing day is the day after Christmas Day. Like Christmas Day it is also a national holiday in England. The name goes back to medival times , when boxes were placed at the back of every church to collect money for the poor. The boxes were opened , and the money was given to the poor.
It is beleived that the holiday developed because servants had to work on Christmas Day , so they took the next day off. As servants wanted to leave to visit their families , their masters would give them gift boxes.
During the late 18th century , Lords and Ladies would "box up" their leftover food or sometimes gifts and give them to the people who lived and worked on their lands the day after Christmas. The tradition of giving money still continues . People give small gifts to the mailman , dustman , paper boy, etc. Boxing Day is usually the day when families travel to visit each other if they spent Christmas Day at home. It is a day of watching sports and playing games too.