Over the Christmas season alms boxes are placed in churches to collect for the
poor and these are what are opened on Boxing Day the day after Christmas day.
The
contents of the boxes are then handed out to the poor of the parish on December
26th, Boxing Day, also known as the Feast of St Stephen.
Stephen
was a Christian martyr who was stoned to death for being a follower of Christ's
shortly after his crucifixion.
Boxing
Day is celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada and it has
become a public holiday in the last century.
This
has been a godsend to many families by having Christmas Day and Boxing Day as
holidays this allowed them the time to travel to visit family members and
celebrate with them.
It
made it much easier for people to get together with those who were important to
them.
It
is perhaps better known today as a day of outdoor sports and horse racing and
hunting rather than for any religious significance.
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