When I hear the term Boxing Day, of course, what automatically comes to mind is Floyd Mayweather, Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao… Oh, I can’t forget the Great Muhammad Ali from my adolescent days watching boxing matches with my grandfather and uncles.  But I’ve recently learned that Boxing Day is actually a public holiday recognized in Canada, United Kingdom, Barbados, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and other former British colonies.

Boxing Day is celebrated the day after Christmas, December 26, and its enigmatic history is rooted in the custom of families presenting holiday boxes filled with money or presents for their household staff. Today, Boxing Day, is celebrated as a shopping day with most retailers offering specials and deals on that day and extending into the New Year. While here in the U.S., that day is not a holiday, many of us will use vacation time to extend our Christmas holiday. And the interesting parallel is that here, too, the day after Christmas is synonymous with shopping.

So why am I sharing this with you? Well, I learned something new about another country’s custom and wanted to share the knowledge.  AND as many Canadian and U.K. retailers are finalizing their Boxing Week sales today, I couldn’t help but pass along a reason to extend shopping at online retailer Clearly Contacts’ Boxing Day clearance sale that ends tonight at midnight with up to 70% off on sunglasses (with designers such as Ray Ban, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger) and regular eyewear (Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs).

I transition between wearing glasses and contact lenses and understand the importance of maintaining good eye health and wanting frames that are stylish but reasonably affordable.  I generally will use my Health Savings Account and either purchase a pair of frames online and then have prescriptions placed locally or will provide my prescription at the time of online purchase. But mainly, I just purchase contact lenses online.

 

If you are in the market for eyewear and still haven’t shaken the holiday shopping spirit, visit Clearly Contacts to take advantage of their Boxing Day clearance sale.  And at least now you know why this is a big deal.