.. BOXING DAY ..     Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th   except when December 26th is a Sunday.     In which case Boxing Day is transferred to December 27th by Royal Proclamation (The Commonwealth of Nations).     It is celebrated in United Kingdom ..   most Commonwealth nations, Hong Kong ..   Australia ..   Canada ..   and New Zealand ..   It is likely that Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages ..   the exact origins of the holiday are obscure.     Some historians say the holiday developed  because servants were required to work on Christmas Day,   but they took the following day off.     The superiors would give the servents gift boxes on that day  to bring to home to servents families.     Others believe the origin is from the alms-boxes  placed in churches  where parishioners deposited coins for the poor during the festive season.     They were opened   and the contents were distributed to the poor and needy on December 26th,   the Feast of St. Stephen.         Boxing Day evolves to giving gifts to those who had rendered a service during the previous year,   such as tradesmen,   mail carriers,   milk men,   doormen,   porters,   and others who may have provided help.     Most modern people celebrate the day as either a day of relaxation (and often sports watching) after the holidays   or a day of shopping (High Street sales).     It is generally the secular alternative to St. Stephen's Day.         Boxing Day is one of the British bank holidays recognized since 1871  that are observed by banks,  government offices,  and the post office.     The others include Christmas,  Good Friday,  Easter,  Whitmonday,  and the bank holiday on the last Monday in August.                 .. SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY ..     St. Stephen's Day,   or the Feast of St. Stephen (Lá Fhéile Stiofáin - Irish)  also takes place on December 26,   it also known as The Day of the Wren in Ireland ..   St. Stephens Day is a public holiday in Alsace   Austria ..   Catalonia ..   Croatia ..   the Czech Republic ..   England ..   Germany ..   Hong Kong ..   Italy ..   Ireland ..   Luxembourg ..   Poland ..   Scotland ..   and Slovakia ..         St. Stephen was one of the seven original deacons of the Christian Church  who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poor.     He was the first Christian martyr,   stoned to death by a mob,   and as he died,   he begged God not to punish his killers.                 .. SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY ..     Boxing Day is known as the Second Christmas Day in the Netherlands ..   Latvia ..   Lithuania ..   Austria ..   Germany ..   Norway ..   Sweeden ..   Finland ..   Czech Republic ..   Slovakia ..   Hungary ..   Poland ..   and Catalonia ..