The Mikkelsons say, "Despite the lively images suggested by the name, it has nothing to do with pugilistic expositions between tanked-up family members who have dearly been looking forward to taking a round out of each other for the past year. Likewise, it does not gain its name from the overpowering need to rid the house of an excess of wrappings and mountains of now useless cardboard boxes the day after St. Nick arrived.

"The name also has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to the stores they came from, hence its common association with hauling about boxes on the day after Christmas."

The holiday's origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but gifts to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is dispute as to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being recognized.

Centuries ago, the merchant class gave boxes of food and fruit to tradespeople and servants the day after Christmas. Those long-ago gifts were done up in boxes, hence the name "Boxing Day."

Others say Christmas celebrations in the old days entailed bringing everyone from a large estate together. The lord of the manor then could easily hand out that year's stipend of necessities. The serfs were presented with their annual allotment of practical goods. Who got what was determined by the status of the worker and his relative family size, with spun cloth, leather goods, durable food supplies, tools and whatnot, chucked into boxes, one box for each family.

According to still others, on the day after Christmas, British servants carried boxes to their masters when they arrived. All employers would put coins in the boxes as a special end-of-the-year gift.

Some say apprentices and servants would get to smash open small earthenware boxes filled with coins left for them by their masters.

Another prevailing theory associates boxes in churches for seasonal donations to the needy that were opened on Christmas Day.

Whichever theory one chooses to back, the one thread common to all is the theme of one-way provision to those not inhabiting the same social level. Boxing Day was, after all, about preserving class lines.

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Traditional things to do on Boxing Day:

• Attend a sporting event. In England, horse racing, regattas, football games and the Brighton Swimming Club's annual dip into the icy English Channel are just some of the events that take place on Boxing Day.