It was a custom on that day for tradesmen to collect their “Christmas boxes,” gifts of money or goods in return for reliable service all year. Do you have any trades people who have been especially helpful this year—your postman, fix-it guy, city doorman?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the custom arose because servants, who would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, were allowed to visit their families the next day and employers would give them boxes to take home containing gifts, bonuses and, sometimes, leftover food.
One of the earliest records of these box gifts dates from 1663. In an entry in his diary, English Parliamentarian Samuel Pepys writes that he sent a coach and messenger to his shoemaker to deliver “something to the boys’ box against Christmas” in addition to funds to cover his bills.

Later, during the Victorian era (1837–1901, the period of Queen Victoria’s reign), Boxing Day evolved. It became an occasion for church parishioners to deposit donations into a box that was put out for the purpose by the clergyman. The money in the boxes was given to the poor.