Boxing Day traditions have evolved over the years. These days, Boxing Day traditions often involve shopping the sales and eating Christmas dinner leftovers. In the past, Boxing Day traditions actually involved boxing up gifts to give to the poor. Another tradition more popular in the past was when churches would take a collection box of money from churchgoers who donated on Christmas Day and give that collection box money to the poor on Boxing Day.
Historically, Boxing Day was also a day off for servants. On Boxing Day, employers would box up a special box of Christmas gifts and leftovers for their servants. In a sense, this Boxing Day tradition lives on in the form of the ‘Christmas bonus’ many employees receive this week.
There’s no reason why this year, your Boxing Day traditions can’t include a mixture of modern and age-old traditions. Below are 7 Boxing Day traditions you’ll love to do this year:
1. Eating Turkey Cranberry Sandwiches
Many people have Boxing Day traditions that involve eating leftovers from Christmas dinner. An especially popular Boxing Day tradition is the turkey cranberry sandwich. Many versions of this sandwich exist. Some people just put turkey, lettuce, butter and cranberry sauce in their sandwich using leftover Christmas turkey. Others add some gravy and even some mashed potatoes or stuffing to their turkey sandwich. You could even add a gravy-soaked piece of bread in the middle of your sandwich, famously known as the ‘moist maker’ turkey sandwich from the hit sitcom Friends. The extra piece of gravy-soaked bread in the middle adds flavour and substance to the sandwich, and it truly is delicious.
2. Honoring Those Who Work For You
Whether you have a loyal cleaning staff, a business with hardworking employees, or a trusted handyman – Boxing Day is a day to honour those who work for you by giving them a bonus of some sort. Christmas is a holiday all about giving. However, it’s not just your family and friends you should be thinking of. It’s a common tradition to give a bonus cheque or special gift to anyone who works for you.
3. Various Boxing Day Traditions Involving Giving Back to the Less Fortunate
Many people have boxing day traditions that involve giving to the poor in some capacity. My mother, for example, gives a donation to the food bank for the exact amount of money she spent on groceries for Christmas dinner. If she spent $300 on groceries for our dinner, she’ll donate $300 to the food bank on Boxing Day.
Donating to a charity to honor the holiday’s origin is one way to celebrate Boxing Day. Other people donate their unwanted or unneeded Christmas gifts they’ve received to the poor on Boxing Day, or fill a donation box with canned goods and clothing.
4. Spending Time With Friends
Since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are typically family holidays, one of the most common Boxing Day traditions is to spend time with your friends. Most of you will have the day off on Boxing Day, so it’s a great time to meet at a pub to catch up, or go for a nature walk outside together.
5. Exercising
The reason it’s common practice to exercise on Boxing Day isn’t just because people want to work off all the holiday treats they ate. It’s also because on Boxing Day, people finally have time to go for a walk or get some exercise. Christmas is such time-consuming, hard work (especially for parents) that there’s no time to exercise. On Boxing Day, however, it feels great to get outside and get some physical activity. Try one of these outdoor winter workouts this Boxing Day.
6. Boxing Day as a Self-Care Day
After all the chaos and busyness of Christmas, Boxing Day is truly a time to breathe again. It’s traditionally known as a very relaxing day, since the stress of Christmas is over, and you can take the day to unwind and rest. Many people use Boxing Day as a self-care day, by reading a book, going for a walk, taking a bath or relaxing with their leftovers and a movie.
7. Shopping the Sales: A Popular Boxing Day Tradition
Whether it’s online or in-store, there are plenty of Boxing Day sales to take advantage of. However, rather than fill your home with clutter by bringing home bags of stuff from the mall, why not take advantage of CircleDNA’s Boxing Day sale this year? This premium at-home DNA testing kit provides you with over 500 reports about yourself in over 20 categories. This includes reports about the best diet and fitness regimen for you, based on your DNA, as well as your personality traits and possible health conditions.
This Boxing Day, do yourself a favor and unbox a lifetime of health insights with CircleDNA.
