Happy Boxing Day!

Today, Britain and some former British lands celebrate Boxing Day. Find out more about it here and here and here.

Basically,

Boxing Day is the following day after Christmas Day. Like Christmas Day it is also a national holiday in England. The name goes back to medieval times, more than 800 years ago, when alms boxes were placed at the back of every church to collect money for the poor. Traditionally, it is on this day that the alms box at every English church is opened and the contents are distributed to the poor.

Historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with Christmas boxes.

During the late 18th century, Lords and Ladies of the manor would "box up" their leftover food, or sometimes gifts and distribute them the day after Christmas to tenants who lived and worked on their lands.

Activities include a Boxing Day Hunt and spending time with one's family.

There are hunts today in England.



AP: Thousands Join Britain Holiday Fox Hunt---

LONDON - Hunters in scarlet coats leapt on horses and sounded brass horns Monday as noisy packs of hounds flew at their heels, pursuing the centuries-old holiday tradition of fox hunting.

The colorful post-Christmas hunt looked the same as ever, but this year there was a crucial difference — the highly trained hounds were under orders not to chase and kill the fox.

It was the first Boxing Day hunt since Britain in February outlawed the use of dogs to kill prey, a measure that angered enthusiasts of one of the British countryside's most ingrained traditions.

But the ban did not dampen spirits Monday as sportsmen in black riding hats set out, said Michael Moore, joint master of the East Devon hunt. He said the turnout of hunters and spectators was similar to last year, when a record number watched.

"As far as today is concerned, there has been no impact at all from the ban," Moore said. "Everybody is cheerful and supportive."