Boxing Day Trivia Quiz

Answer: United Kingdom

"Boxing Day" originated as a holiday in the United Kingdom during the 17th century, when people who had rendered some service to an employer were given a Christmas "box" as a gift. Hence "Boxing Day" began to be celebrated as a holiday when people such as servants, errand boys and postmen received a Christmas box.

In the United Kingdom, a custom that was followed was that tradesmen received Christmas boxes from their masters as a sign of appreciation for the good services they rendered during a particular year.

Answer: Money, Presents or Food

The Christmas boxes contained money, presents or food.

Answer: 26th December

Usually, Boxing Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom every year on 26th December, the day after Christmas. If and when Boxing Day falls on a weekend, the holiday is observed the next day so that people get a day off.

Answer: Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Boxing Day is not only celebrated in the United Kingdom, it is also celebrated in some of the countries which were ruled by the United Kingdom at one time, such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Answer: It is a Public holiday

Boxing Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom where it is observed and celebrated.

It is a bank holiday in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, public holidays are known as bank holidays, and both the terms public holiday and bank holiday are used, to refer to official holidays. On these days, banks remain closed in the United Kingdom, and the general public is given time off work, and paid extra salary for working on these days, in case they work.

Answer: Shopping

In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Boxing Day is considered to be mainly a shopping occasion. On Boxing Day, most shops are over crowded and shops reduce the prices of most goods heavily, and earn huge profits.

A number of shops open earlier than usual, and huge queues form outside shops on the early hours of Boxing Day, even before the shops have opened. Many stores or shops sell a number of items. Shopping is thus a major activity on Boxing Day in most of the countries where it is observed.

Answer: Saint Stephen's Day

Boxing Day is a major holiday in the United Kingdom and it is also observed in many other countries which were ruled by the United Kingdom, but it is not observed in all the countries. In countries such as Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Serbia,Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, Saint Stephen's Day is observed on 26th December to commemorate Saint Stephen, who is known as the "First Martyr" in Christian tradition. It is also a public holiday in countries that celebrate or observe Boxing Day, such as the United Kingdom. Saint Stephen's Day is also known as the "Feast of Saint Stephen".

For example, in the Republic of Ireland, Saint Stephen's Day is called Wren's Day or the Day of the Wren. In Ireland, there is a tradition that is practiced in some parts of the country in which small boys go with a wren from door to door, and sing, perform traditional dances or play music and collect money for charity. These boys are known as "Wren Boys". It is a public holiday in Ireland, and banks, post offices and government offices remain closed.

Answer: Sports Events

In the United Kingdom, it is common for the country's top football leagues and lower ranking football leagues, as well as rugby leagues to hold a full programme of football matches, which are shown on television. Many people, especially those who are less keen on shopping, stay at home and watch these football matches. Other events such as horse racing are also popular.

Answer: People participate in "Door Buster" deals through Online shopping now.

"Door Buster" or "Door Crasher" deals refer to a situation when a store offers items at special discounts to customers for a limited time and on a limited amount of goods or products. Traditionally, this technique of selling products has been used by stores on public holidays, such as Boxing Day, when people form huge queues outside stores to get such deals on goods that they want to buy.

However, it has been noticed that in spite of the fact that stores offer good discounts to customers on a limited amount of goods or products, they have not been able to get a good amount of shoppers, and one of the major reasons for the emergence of this trend is the rise of Online Shopping, which has become very prominent in recent years.

Thus many retailers in the Canada have tried to get more and more customers to buy their products on Boxing Day by allowing their customers to participate in "Door Buster" deals through Online shopping, comfortably in their homes, without having to wait for hours in queues inside or outside the stores in the cold weather, or struggle to get ahead in the queue to get a good deal on products or goods they want or need to buy.

Answer: It is an extended version of Boxing Day

As the term clearly suggests, "Boxing Week", is a period in the month of December, that begins on 26th December and lasts for about six days, till New Year's Eve. This idea was invented by the retailers to extend their Boxing Day sales through much of the Christmas season. Therefore, in a sense, "Boxing Week" can be regarded as an extended version of Boxing Day.

In the United Kingdom, Boxing Day is a major public holiday, and British people try to spend time and enjoy the festival season with their families. Many retailers extend their Boxing Day sales beyond that period, and there are also retailers who begin their Boxing Day sales many days before Boxing Day in order to earn extra profit, so as to avoid incurring any losses. The trend became popular after the Great Recession that began in 2008 and lasted till the early 2010s. Thus, the six day time period isn't observed very strictly and many British retailers try to clear their inventory during Boxing Week, for a number of reasons. Usually, shops are very crowded and have to deal with huge queues of people waiting.