Today is Boxing Day, a Commonwealth holiday unfamiliar to most Americans, and a national holiday in Canada since 1871.
And it has nothing to do with fighters in a ring with a bell.
While its history is a little fuzzy, traditionally Boxing Day was thought of as a time for alms-giving, and for lords and ladies to distribute gifts to household servants, dependents and the poor. It was originally known as Offering Day.
Fiction-related note: Charles Dickens mentioned Boxing Day in “The Pickwick Papers,” which was published as a monthly serial in 1836 and 1837.
These days, Boxing Day in Canada is more like a second Black Friday, an excuse for big sales and shopping shopping shopping.
I have no servants but as you may know, I like to contribute to the community and causes that matter to me. So today, I’ll help support some of the groups out there doing good.
No boxing necessary.
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J.R. Johnson 
[…] what, I asked, is this event called Boxing Day, a.k.a. December 26th? In modern Canada, this Commonwealth holiday is typically associated with […]