Boxing Day, celebrated on December 26, is the second day of Christmas and a day of charity and public festivity. The day is named for gift-boxes given to those outside the immediate family, especially those who serve us through the year. (It might have something to do with boxing too, but you’ll have to read to the end to find out). Originating in England and now spread throughout the world, Boxing Day is an elaboration of the Feast of Saint Stephen and his charitable role as one of the first deacons.
One of the best reasons to celebrate Boxing Day is that it helps us to notice all the people who serve us on a regular basis. The quality of our lives, to a large degree, depends upon the everyday kindness and grace of those around us. Moreover, Boxing Day gives us an opportunity to share the gospel, by praying for those who serve us, and by giving gifts that point to Christ. Finally, Boxing Day is a wonderful way to continue the feast of Christmas, as a transition from the high point of Christmas Day into the longer 12 days of Christmastide.
Boxing Day: On the Feast of Stephen
Consult the church calendar on December 26th, and you will see not “Boxing Day,” but rather the Feast of Saint Stephen. Yet Boxing Day is not in competition with the commemoration of Stephen; it is actually a great way to celebrate him in his charitable work as a deacon.
Stephen first appears in Acts chapter 6, when the Jerusalem church is facing a crisis in its charitable ministry. Though the church was theoretically committed to giving food to widows in need, in practice the food was only getting to the Hebrew speaking widows, and the Greek speaking widows were being neglected.
To address this problem, the apostles call for a group of seven men to serve as deacons. Stephen is the first one on the list:
They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:5-6
Acts does not describe in detail the charitable work of the new deacons, but the subsequent growth of the church suggests that their ministry was effective.
Thus the Feast of Stephen has always been connected to acts of charity and gift-giving. We see this theme, for example, in the classic carol Good King Wenceslas, which tells the story of a king’s charity to a poor man, all “on the feast of Stephen.”
