I Just Learned Why We Call It 'Boxing Day,' And It's Very Victorian

I grew up in Ireland, where many people refer to the day after Christmas (December 26) as “St Stephen’s Day”, which is the feast day for the patron saint of horses.

Historically, this was also Lá an Dreoilín, or the “Wren Day”. In the past, a wren would be hunted, killed and brought from door to door by “Wren boys”, who would sing a song and ask for money in exchange for burying the bird.

Those two might seem unrelated, but they’re not. Legend has it that a wren wronged St Stephen...