It's Boxing Day!This prize fight, painted by William H. Johnson and starring boxing legend Joe Louis, does not literally illustrate the topic at hand.
Put up Your Dukes!
It's Boxing Day!This prize fight, painted by William H. Johnson and starring boxing legend Joe Louis, does not literally illustrate the topic at hand.
Actually, Boxing Day has nothing to do with brawling and punching. Although unfamiliar in the United States, Boxing Day is celebrated in many other countries, such as Britain, Australia, and Canada.
Boxing Day, also known as St. Stephen's Day, falls on December 26. The holiday dates back as far as the Middle Ages and was commemorated by giving gifts to needy people and charities. The reference to "boxing" has varying explanations according to British folklore.
Some believe that the name came from the St. Stephen's Day tradition of churches opening their alms boxes to distribute the collected money to the poor. Others suggest that the term came from the holiday gifts that wealthy employers wrapped in boxes to distribute to their servants on December 26.
Pictured: William H. Johnson, 1901–70, Joe Louis and Unidentified Boxer, about 1939–42, tempera, pen and ink, and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, 20 5/8 x 15 5/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.