STella,
Boxing Day is a British Tradition that has been handed down over the years and observed in most Commonwealth countries. In Canada, Boxing day is the day after Christmas, but it is also a statutory holiday, so while it is the day after Christmas, it's most often observed the day after, the day after Christmas,
It's re-gifting on steroids ...with a neat little twist.
Traditionally, when people got gifts they didn't like, want, or need, ...they would 'box them up' and bring them to poor houses so as not to waste anything. They would re-gift them to the poor. So the day after Christmas became known as "Boxing Day", 'cause that's when everyone would do their 'boxing'
Over the years, after the mad rush of Christmas, and retailers having turned their profits for the year, the day after Christmas became famous for slashing the prices up to 90% off, in order to clear out any christmas merchandise that didn't sell before the holidays.
Some people budget for both Christmas & Boxing Day, because they know that Boxing Day, they can get things for up to 90% off in the stores.
Some last minute shoppers will even get the jump on the Boxing day sales, because retailers will often start prepping their boxing day items Christmas eve. If you thought the malls were crowded during Christmas, you haven't seen a crowd until you've seen a 'Boxing Day' crowd.
So LH was partly right when he said:
Thats where the crazy cannuks don some boxing gloves and beat the snot out of each other
Those crowds can get pretty pushy, and fights have occasionally been known to break out over items.
In addition, some people wait till Boxing day to buy presents for the people they won't be seeing on Christmas Day.
Boxing Day = Bargains Galore!
