The day after Christmas has long been known as Boxing Day in many other countries other than the United States. It’s a holiday that’s celebrated in various places such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia to name just a few. Other countries celebrate this day as well, but under other names such as St. Stephens Day, the Day of Goodwill, or the Second Christmas Day. Regardless of the name this day has been given in each of the places that celebrate it as a holiday, there is one thing they all have in common. It’s a day that’s about giving gifts and presents to the needy.
The reason why it was originally named Boxing Day was that the servants of the wealthy were allowed the day after Christmas to visit their families. On that day, their employers would give each servant a box to take home that contained gifts and bonuses, and sometimes even food. Unfortunately, much of this tradition has disappeared over the years and the day has become more of a shopping day like Black Friday for both those countries that once celebrated it and those like the United States, which never have.
Some say that the day after Christmas is the second busiest shopping day of the year next to Black Friday. That’s because for many on this day, it’s where unwanted Christmas gifts are returned to the store to get cash or something else more desired.
I remember this pattern very well. It was quite common for me over many Christmas holidays to be in a retail store on the day after Christmas returning clothes that didn’t fit or that I didn’t like. Or maybe I was taking some other type of gift back that I wanted to get a better model of or when I just wanted the cash for it to get something better. What I never realized was how selfish and self-centered I was in doing those actions. While it says one thing to return something that doesn’t fit, the message that’s portrayed is completely different when a Christmas gift is returned solely for the purpose of getting something else entirely.
Over the years, I began to realize that people took quality time to think about the Christmas gifts I might like to receive. I started to see these people had placed a lot of their hearts into looking for the things that they’d end up wrapping so beautifully in anticipation of me opening them on Christmas Day. Then I saw the sadness in their eyes when I’d open those gifts and not be very excited about them. I’d also feel their disappointment when I took those hard sought items back to the store to return it for something I thought would be much better for me. And to imagine all those needy and less fortunate people out there on Boxing Day both in the present time and also way back when, who would have each desired any of my gift returns in an instant.
While I don’t do the major gift exchange with my partner or family these days during the holidays, there still is an occasional gift or two that’s shared between each of us. Today, I treasure those gifts when I receive them, regardless of whatever they are, because in each of them is a piece of love from the person’s heart and soul who gave it to me.
It really is sad that the day after Christmas has becomes such a commercialized day where people frequently do like I once did, by taking heart-felt gifts and returning them for what they think they need, want, or desire. It’s also too bad that the day isn’t a lot more about treasuring what each of us received and doing things like what Boxing Day once represented, by giving back to those in need. Hopefully people may start doing things like this more again.
My point here in all of this is that the day after Christmas doesn’t have to be another trip to the shopping mall or any retail store for that matter. Of course people will have those gift cards they want to use on this day, but it’s the action of taking things back that could receive a lot more scrutiny. This day could be a lot more about truly cherishing those gifts instead and thinking about the love that was put into purchasing them. And it can also be a day where our focus is on trying to give back to those more in need who may never be as fortunate as we are.
Hasn’t God blessed each of us with enough this Christmas that maybe we should take a moment, breathe, and truly embrace what we’ve been given instead of returning any of it or thinking there’s something more we need to get for ourselves? And maybe each of us can also take something of our own and give it away this year to someone who might really be in need…
Happy Boxing Day everyone!
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
