Q: Why is the day after Christmas known as Boxing Day ?
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Answer: Boxing Day dates from the Middle Ages. It is a holiday in several countries, including Britain, Australia and Canada. It s a tradition of giving to the needy on the day after Christmas.
One theory for the name of Boxing Day is that churches would open their alms box (in which people had put gifts or money) on that day and distribute the contents to the poor.
Working tradespeople had adopted the custom of saving up their tips in a box, to be opened on Dec. 26.
Later, hordes of neighborhood-service providers would show up at the doors of the rich, asking for a Christmas box, according to the Encyclopedia of Christmas by Tanya Gulevich.