Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated December 26 in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other countries in the British Commonwealth. The tradition of the holiday is focused on charity and giving, including giving money or other donations to the needy, charitable organizations, and people employed in service jobs, such as letter carriers.http://ipl2server-2.ischool.drexel.edu/div/cquest/europe/ukholiday.html The name of the holiday can be traced back to the English nobility giving gifts in boxes on the day after Christmas to their servants who had worked on Christmas day.http://ipl2server-2.ischool.drexel.edu/div/cquest/europe/ukholiday.html Another source of the holiday is from the eighth century when the church began opening its alms boxes the day after Christmas and distributing the money it had gathered over the previous year to the poor.http://ipl2server-2.ischool.drexel.edu/div/cquest/europe/ukholiday.html

More recently, Boxing Day has become a shopping day similar to Black Friday in the United States, with retailers trying to lure shoppers and boost end-of-the-year sales figures with after Christmas bargains.

Retailers provide sales details in circulars included in local and regional newspapers or mailed directly to consumers who have requested them and signed up to their mailing lists. Promotional emails are often sent to consumers who have signed up to receive them, and retailers' websites have details on promotions as well. There are web sites that compile lists of retailers' ads for shoppers' convenience, including boxingday.redflagdeals.com.