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Philip Newton ([personal profile] pne) wrote2004-12-06 07:59 am
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Boxing Day

When is Boxing Day this year?

I used to think that "Boxing Day" = "26 December", but it seems that at least originally, Boxing Day was "the first weekday after Christmas", when service workers received Christmas-boxes—which makes sense, since the milkman, postman, etc. would typically not work on a Sunday (would they?).

So would Boxing Day be on 27 December this year?

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karen2205: Me with proper sized mug of coffee (Default)

[personal profile] karen2205 2004-12-05 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Boxing Day is (currently) always the 26th December. However, since Christmas Day and Boxing Day are a Saturday & Sunday respectively, the following Monday & Tuesday are bank holidays in the UK in lieu of getting a weekday for those two days.
ext_78: A picture of a plush animal. It looks a bit like a cross between a duck and a platypus. (Default)

[identity profile] pne.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
since Christmas Day and Boxing Day are a Saturday & Sunday respectively, the following Monday & Tuesday are bank holidays in the UK in lieu of getting a weekday for those two days.

Ooh, that's a pleasant ruling!
karen2205: Me with proper sized mug of coffee (Default)

[personal profile] karen2205 2004-12-06 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
All bank holidays that fall at weekends are replaced by the next available weekday as a day off in lieu of the holiday. Most bank holidays are fixed so that they always fall on weekdays eg. Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first & last Mondays in May, the last Monday in August. It's only Christmas Day, Boxing Day and new year's day that can fall at the weekend.

So we get a two week period when offices and stuff are very quiet - in most places Christmas Eve is either an unofficial half day/early finish/whole day off. Then this year we get Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue as weekend/bank holidays, Wed/Thu/Fri that are working days (the Fri having early finishes too 'cos it's new year's eve) Sat/Sun/Mon as weekend/bank holiday with Tue 4th being the first working day (except in Scotland where they get an extra bank holiday that day).

[identity profile] fweebles.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
Same here (http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/jfa-ha/index_e.cfm).
ext_78: A picture of a plush animal. It looks a bit like a cross between a duck and a platypus. (Default)

[identity profile] pne.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
That web page doesn't explain that, though—for example, it says that Boxing Day falls on "Dec. 26" in 2004 without mentioning that the 27th will be a public holiday or day off in lieu. (It does mention special treatment for Canada Day, though.)

[identity profile] nik-w.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
It may have been the first weekday at one point, but such definitions get lost over time - boxing day is always the day after christmas, but like [livejournal.com profile] karen2205 said, we get two bank holidays this year (so the shop where I work is closed Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue).

[identity profile] sovereigna.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
you know, it's funny you say that.. I thought it was weird that one one of the websites for public holidays in Australia, it had Boxing day as the Monday the 27th.

Wow, something I didn't know.
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[identity profile] jpallan.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Unrelated -- Julianne will turn 4 on Boxing Day.
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[identity profile] tungol.livejournal.com 2004-12-06 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Here in Canada, I've never heard "Boxing Day" used for anything other than Dec. 26, for which it is regularly used.
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