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No, it's not a day to test your pugilistic skills. As the sites in the Yahoo! Holidays and Observances > Boxing Day category taught us, this December 26 holiday is observed in Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, "the traditional celebration of Boxing Day included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs." Typically, people give presents to postal workers or spend the day volunteering. The World Book Encyclopedia also states that although the holiday may date from the Middle Ages (A.D. 400s - 1500s),
the exact origin is unknown. A number of theories attempt to explain how the day came to be, all centering around the idea of boxes and giving to the less fortunate. Boxing Day coincides with Saint Stephen's Day. Although some sites we encountered didn't differentiate between the two, they are two distinct holidays with different customs and celebrations. Saint Stephen's Day, a national holiday in Ireland, honors the first Christian martyr and was traditionally celebrated with a feast and the hunting and killing of a wren.
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