Every year, December 26 is the day of Boxing Day, a public holiday in the UK and a lot of Commonwealth countries like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The term is not connected to the boxing sport, as many people might think, but has historical and cultural significance that goes back centuries. A very popular explanation supports that the word originated from the custom of giving ‘Christmas boxes’ gifts or money to the servants, tradespeople, and the poor the day after Christmas in recognition of their work during the holiday season.
Origin Of ‘Boxing Day’
Churches would keep the alms boxes collecting donations during Advent and open them on the day to give to the needy. Such activities gradually turned December 26 into a ‘Boxing Day’ in British society. Over the years, Boxing Day has changed its character from an Easter, social and charitable holiday to a sporting holiday with a major position in the calendar. The Christmas time British football matches on Boxing Day were the highlight of the holidays and were also the main reason why the early football leagues scheduled their matches during this period, they wanted the local crowds of fans, who were mostly on vacations, to enjoy live games with very little traveling. The games were regularly played on December 26 from the late 19th century onwards and this eventually became a part of the popular English football culture. The Premier League’s 2025 calendar has just one match on the significant date because of scheduling and broadcasting issues, but it has always been a day of fixtures in all divisions, thus proving its historical significance in sports.
‘Boxing Day’ Cricket Matches
In the Southern Hemisphere where Christmas is not white mostly, cricket in a way, has also participated in the celebrations of Boxing Day. One of the biggest and most amazing events in the cricket calendar, is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Boxing Day Test match in Australia. The custom began in a big way in the late 1960s and it was in the 1970s and 1980s that it got established as a fixed event for every December 26 when Australia would invite a visiting team for a five day Test match. The Boxing Day Test will keep on drawing large crowds and international TV watchers, thus changing what was once considered a post Christmas break into a cultural sporting display that is deeply connected to the festive season.
Boxing Day sporting events today include not only cricket and football but also several other sports like rugby, horse racing, and different winter activities in the Commonwealth nations. The motives for the acceptance of this date by the sports industry vary, from the case of trying to get as many spectators and people watching as possible during the holiday to the support of a tradition that has been around for a long time, but the common factor is that December 26 has become a day for major matches and competitive fixtures. Those who are at the stadiums or watching from home, Boxing Day is a sports celebration that is also a continuity of the festive holiday rituals that have been transmitted from one generation to the next.
