WHY IS DECEMBER 26TH CALLED BOXING DAY?

While I was still very young, I could member that all we wanted to hear is holidays, most especially the Christmas holidays and the Christmas day itself.

Then, we shall have to visit friends, relatives, travel, get our choices of candies, clothes, eye glasses and wristwatches, listen and dance to the sweet Christmas carol, received gifts from uncles and aunts and many others which made Christmas a much celebrated day to us as at the time

At some point, I heard of boxing day, the first thought that came into my mind was a boxing contest (men with boxing gloves and without shirts fighting in a ring)

Most of us didn't care to know what its for as long as it doesn't interfere with our holidays or stops us from going to Uncle Paul's place to play in his house, jumping on his couch, running and sliding on his long dining table, playing hide & seek and water gun war because he is the only grown up who allowed us to play such plays in his house

Boxing day was never among the questions I asked my parents or any of my uncles while I was growing up but we were very much interested in Christmas, and was told its the birthday of Jesus Christ, new year, of course from the name, a fresh year, independence day, and even our own birthdays and that of our parents, siblings and friends (excluding that of our teachers in school because we rarely like them)

The origin of boxing day is shrouded in different theories, but, somebody once told me

that its the day all the collected Christmas boxes and gifts are opened.

A quick scan through wikipedia showed a number of these theories which made me to stick to the one I was told (you can google search it if you will see the one you'll agree to), but its definitely not a boxing contest as I feared then.

With these, I can say, happy boxing day, and I wish you all a great joy and laughter as you open your boxes to unveil those wonderful precious gifted items.