Boxing Day
Next: December 26, 2026
Leftovers, football and a day to rest.
The story
Where it comes from
Boxing Day, 26 December, takes its name from Christmas boxes, not from the sport. For centuries servants, apprentices and tradespeople in Britain received gifts of money or goods after Christmas; sources differ on whether the name comes from these gift boxes or from church alms boxes opened for the poor. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest record of 'Boxing Day' is from a London court case of 1743. The Bank Holidays Act of 1871 made it a bank holiday, and it is also kept in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
How it's celebrated
It is a day for leftovers, family visits and long walks, and for sport: a full programme of football in Britain and the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Shops open their post-Christmas sales. In Hong Kong the first weekday after Christmas is a general holiday too. Some people still give a tip or a small gift to the postman and others who serve them all year, the oldest custom of the day.
Did you know
- The Christmas box began as a real container: a dictionary of 1611 mentions the box 'our London Prentices beg withal before Christmas'.
- The first recorded Boxing Day football match was played in 1860, between Sheffield FC and Hallam FC.
- Australia has made a Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground a fixture of its summer since 1980.
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