Christmas box

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English[edit]

Noun[edit]

Christmas box (plural Christmas boxes)

  1. (historical) A bonus or gift given by an employer to an employee, by a master/mistress to his/her servants, or by a householder to delivery persons at Christmas time, traditionally on Boxing Day.
    • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. [], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, [], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC:
      You have no idea how poor the court is; nobody is rich, except Mazarin and l'Abbé Fouquet. I am half tempted to cry with Madame Thurine, 'How happy are our servants! they, at least, get Christmas boxes.'

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