Out with two international friends recently, my German friend inquired of our plans for "Second Christmas," to which my Australian friend responded, you mean "Boxing Day," to which I said "I beg your pardon, on either account?"

I'd never heard of such days and thought maybe our wine had illuminated conversations a bit more imaginatively than usual. Turns-out, however, that Wikipedia confirmed both accounts later that evening. Not only were both holidays legit, but they exposed overflowing layers to my current comprehensions of December 25th. I won't bore you with all my searching, but below is a quite interesting etymology of "Boxing Day."

The name derives from the tradition of giving seasonal gifts, on the day after Christmas, to less wealthy people and social inferiors, which was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers and servants.