Today is Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is always celebrated the day after Christmas, on December 26. It has been a public holiday in the United Kingdom since 1871 and is celebrated across much of the Commonwealth.

It is a time to spend with family or friends, usually those not seen on Christmas Day itself.

For some sporting organisations they organise competitions to make use of the holiday.

But why is it called Boxing Day?

Wikipedia says there are a few competing stories for the origin of the name, but none are definitive.

The first is that the day after Christmas was when servants of the wealthy were given time off to visit their family, as they were needed to work on Christmas Day.

Each servant would be given a box to take home with food, a bonus and gifts.

Another theory is that in the Victorian era, churches often displayed a box for parishioners to donate money.

Also, it was customary for tradespeople to collect ‘Christmas boxes’ of money or gifts on the first weekday after Christmas as a thank you for good service over the year.

Vox says another popular suggestion is that it arose from the tradition of making charitable donations during the Christmas season, wherein people would give boxes of food and other supplies to the less fortunate and churches would set out donation boxes to collect for the poor.

Still another theory centres on the 10th century duke of Bohemia: As the story goes, the duke was out surveying his land the day after Christmas when he noticed a poor man trying to gather firewood in a blizzard. Moved, the duke went to the poor man’s house with a box of food, wine, and other items — a deed so noble it was immortalised in the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas.”

For those who will make use of the holiday to go for a picnic, swimming in the sea or in a river, be very alert on those around you. Offer help when needed.

Those in Suva and other areas will see many flock to My Suva Park in Nasese to spend their Boxing Day holiday.

If needed, call for help when required.

Be at a place where you can be seen by those in the area.

Have a safe and an enjoyable Boxing Day holiday and at all times safety must be prioritised.

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