This holiday derives from the Old English custom of giving Christmas “boxes” to tradesmen, postmen, and servants. The original boxes were usually made of earthenware and contained money, which could be retrieved only by breaking the boxes open. These days, a gift of money is usually contained in a greeting card and given before the holiday. Where celebrated (Great Britain, Canada, and Australia), Boxing Day is welcomed as a quiet day of recuperation from the season’s hectic festivities. It is also the biggest day of the year for soccer playoffs.
Every Year
- ON BOXING DAY, REMEMBER YOUR POSTAL CARRIER, DELIVERY PERSON, AND OTHER HELPERS.
- BOXING DAY (CANADA)
- FIRST DAY OF KWANZAA
1860s
1890s
1920s
1930s
- DIED 1931: MELVIL DEWEY (LIBRARIAN FAMOUS FOR DEVELOPING THE DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM)
- BORN 1935: NORM ULLMAN (HOCKEY PLAYER)
1940s
1950s
1970s
- BORN 1971: JARED LETO (ACTOR)
- DIED 1972: HARRY TRUMAN (33RD U.S. PRESIDENT)
- DIED 1974: JACK BENNY (ACTOR)
- 1974: LAW AMENDED TO ADMIT GIRLS INTO LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
- BORN 1979: CHRIS DAUGHTRY (SINGER)
2000s
- DIED 2000: JASON ROBARDS (ACTOR)
- DIED 2002: HERB RITTS (CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHER)
- 2003: AN EARTHQUAKE AT BAM IN SOUTHERN IRAN KILLED MORE THAN 20,000 PEOPLE
- 2004: A POWERFUL 9.0 EARTHQUAKE ERUPTED UNDERWATER OFF THE ISLAND OF SUMATRA AND SET OFF TSUNAMIS THAT BUILT UP SPEEDS OF AS MUCH AS 500 MILES PER HOUR, WHICH CRASHED INTO AREAS OF SRI LANKA, INDIA, THAILAND, INDONESIA, THE MALDIVES, AND MALAYSIA. AN ESTIMATED 225,000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED
- DIED 2004: REGGIE WHITE (FOOTBALL PLAYER)
- 2004: PEYTON MANNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS BROKE DAN MARINO’S SINGLE-SEASON TOUCHDOWN PASS RECORD WHEN HE THREW HIS 48TH AND 49TH OF THE SEASON AGAINST THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
- DIED 2005: VINCENT SCHIAVELLI (ACTOR)
- DIED 2006: GERALD FORD (38TH U.S. PRESIDENT)
2010s
COURTESY www.almanac.com
