Today is Boxing Day!… but we don’t really do Boxing Day here in the United States. Unless you’re familiar with Boxing Day, you might assume that it involves riveting bouts between heavyweight pugilists, or maybe it’s a day where you put things in boxes, or maybe even a day that celebrates the glorious invention that is the box, which so many take for granted the other 364 days out of the year. None of those assumptions would be correct, however.
Boxing Day started as a British holiday, falling on the first weekday after Christmas. Wealthy lords, ladies, and businessmen would give the day off to their servants and employees along with a “Christmas box”, money or gifts. It was a gesture that said, “Hey, thanks for what you do, and sorry you didn’t get the day off yesterday.”
Today, banks close in the U.K. for Boxing Day, and a lot of soccer is played, but thanks to advancements in civil rights, the generosity to servants and tradespeople is no longer a facet of the holiday.
Since the holidays falls on the day after Christmas, it also happens to be a big shopping day. Stores in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and all across the globe put on sales in hopes of wringing out a final surge in spending for the year’s busiest month of shopping.
Stores and businesses that overestimated demand for products try and make a little bit of their money back before inventory is doomed to a life of gobbling up shelf space with a slowly diminishing price tag.
Boxing Day also marks the off season for manufacturing. The high demand leading up to Christmas brings lots of business to the manufacturing and packaging industries, but as consumer demand droops after the holidays, many plants are forced to decrease hours for their employees. Or slow down the output on automated lines.
But the manufacturing industry has been making a bit of a comeback over recent years. Demand, funding, and interest in automation has also been growing, and the manufacturing slow season always comes to an end.
Equipment and machinery problems can be even more harmful when business is slow than in peak season. If you notice any error notifications or issues with your Indramat or Indradrive system, call us immediately.