Christmas box
Preserved but no longer current.
A small gratuity given on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day). Boxes placed in churches for casual offerings used to be opened on Christmas Day, and the contents, called the "dole of the Christmas box," or the "box money," were distributed next day by the priests. Apprentices used, also, to carry a box round to their masters' customers for small gratuities.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Christmas box” mean?
A small gratuity given on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day). Boxes placed in churches for casual offerings used to be opened on Christmas Day, and the contents, called the "dole of the Christmas box," or the "box money," were distributed next day by the priests. Apprentices used, also, to carry a box round to their masters' customers for small gratuities.
Is “Christmas box” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.