What is Boxing Day?

For my choice blog this week, I was unsure of what to write about.  Later, as I was looking through a calendar at my house, they had Boxing Day labeled as a Canadian Holiday on the day after Christmas.  Much to my surprise, it was not about the sport of boxing, but about a cardboard box. The idea of Boxing Day in Canada could have been brought over from England.  Some think that it has some ties to the holiday of Christmas and biblical times.  More people believe that it originated from aristocratic English families.  On the day after Christmas, they would give their servants and hired help boxes full of gifts.  They were then allowed to go home and spend some time with their families for the rest of the day since they weren't allowed to on Christmas day.  From what I can understand, in Canada, it is much like our Black Friday.  The stores have the best deals and sales, and everyone goes shopping.  Children are off of school, all government agencies are closed, and many businesses are closed.  Most people are off of work.  In some Canadian provinces, the stores aren't even open even though the holiday is now generally associated with shopping.  In the provinces of Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Ontario, and Labrador this is the case.  The shopping in these provinces starts on the twenty-seventh of December.  A lot of sporting events and tournaments, namely hockey are also played on this day.  Many people choose to stay at home with their family and friends to watch their favorite Ice hockey team play a game The Canadian Ice Hockey Team also plays in a tournament in Switzerland on this day, which is also watched frequently amongst hockey fans.  I personally think that this holiday sounds like a good idea.  Two of my favorite activities in winter are shopping and watching hockey.  A day where these two things are put together into one day sounds fantastic.  I could definitely get used to that.  The greater Buffalo area should really start thinking about partaking in this holiday.