Boxing Day in 1790

After working hard on Christmas Day making the Stevenson’s family dinner, the servants have been given a day off.

What's happening

After working hard on Christmas Day making the Davidsons’ family dinner, the servants have been given a day off. The master of the house is packing present boxes to thank them for a year of good service. They will soon open the boxes to find coins and clothes and will enjoy leftovers with their families on their day of leisure.

Over the next few decades, Boxing Day will develop a riotous reputation. With all of the servants off work at once, celebrations could easily get out of hand.

Boxing Day

In the Christian calendar, 26 December is the feast day of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. St Stephen was known for his acts of kindness through distributing food and aid to the poor. His feast day is still associated with charity today, although it is now more well known as Boxing Day.  

From the 1500s onwards, the charitable tradition arose of giving servants, tradesmen and performers tips for their Christmas boxes on 26 December. This is likely to be how the name Boxing Day arose.