49 Fun Facts About Boxing Day

How does the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 define the UK's Boxing Day bank holiday?

Schedule 1 of the 1971 Act lists the holiday as '26th December, if it be not a Sunday', substituting 27th December when the 25th or 26th is a Sunday; the Act never uses the name Boxing Day.

Boxing Day originated in which country?

Boxing Day originated in the United Kingdom: giving servants and tradesmen a 'Christmas box' on 26 December was an English custom by the 17th century, and the holiday spread to Commonwealth countries.

Boxing Day was traditionally a day for doing what?

Boxing Day was traditionally for giving gifts to the needy and to servants: employers handed servants and tradesmen a 'Christmas box' of money or leftovers on 26 December, after they had worked Christmas Day.

One theory traces the name to what kind of church box opened the day after Christmas?

An alms box for the poor: churches kept an alms box for donations, and one theory says it was opened on 26 December and the contents shared among the poor, giving the day its name.

Which diarist mentioned tradesmen collecting 'Christmas boxes' in an entry for 19 December 1663?

Samuel Pepys's diary for 19 December 1663 records paying his shoemaker's bill and giving 'something to the boys' box against Christmas', an early note of the Christmas-box custom.

The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest attestation of 'Boxing Day' dates from which year?

The OED's earliest citation for 'Boxing Day' is from 1743, defining it as the first weekday after Christmas, when postmen, errand boys and servants expected to receive a Christmas box.

Boxing Day became a bank holiday in England, Wales and Ireland under an Act of which year?

The Bank Holidays Act 1871, promoted by the banker and MP Sir John Lubbock, made 26 December a bank holiday in England, Wales and Ireland; the new holidays were nicknamed 'St Lubbock's Days'.

Boxing Day usually falls on the feast day of which figure, the first Christian martyr?

Stephen was the first Christian martyr, stoned to death around AD 34.

The martyr whose feast is kept on the day after Christmas held what office in the early Jerusalem church?

Acts describes him as one of seven Greek-speaking deacons chosen to distribute food; Saul of Tarsus witnessed his stoning.

In parts of Ireland and the Isle of Man, the day after Christmas is named for which traditionally hunted bird?

'Wrenboys' in straw masks paraded the bird on a decorated pole and collected money.

On Boxing Day 1900, a relief crew found three keepers missing from which Scottish lighthouse?

The Flannan Isles lighthouse: when the relief tender Hesperus reached Eilean Mòr on 26 December 1900, keepers James Ducat, Thomas Marshall and Donald MacArthur had vanished, a mystery never solved.

In the carol 'Good King Wenceslas', what is the king doing on the feast after Christmas?

The king is taking alms to a poor peasant: seeing a poor man gathering winter fuel, Wenceslas carries meat, wine and pine logs to him, his page treading in his footprints; John Mason Neale wrote the words in 1853.

The melody of 'Good King Wenceslas' was borrowed from a 13th-century carol about which season?

Spring: the tune is the 13th-century spring carol 'Tempus adest floridum' ('The time of flowers is near'), which Neale took from Piae Cantiones, a collection of medieval Latin songs published in 1582.

Which Australian state does NOT observe Boxing Day, celebrating Proclamation Day instead?

South Australia observes Proclamation Day instead: it marks Governor Hindmarsh's proclamation of the Province of South Australia on 28 December 1836 beside the Old Gum Tree at Glenelg.

What did South Africa rename the 26 December public holiday in 1994?

Day of Goodwill: South Africa's Public Holidays Act of 1994 renamed 26 December the Day of Goodwill, dropping the colonial-era name Boxing Day, with the idea that the Christmas spirit should carry into the next day.

Which US state officially declared 26 December Boxing Day in 1996, though not a holiday?

Massachusetts: in 1996 Governor William Weld, urged by British expatriates, designated 26 December as Boxing Day in the state, a recognition only, not a public holiday.

What is Boxing Day called in French-speaking Canada?

Le Lendemain de Noël ('the day after Christmas') is the French name used in Canada's federal holiday legislation; the day is a federal statutory holiday and a statutory holiday in Ontario.

Which territory added Boxing Day to its statutory holidays in 2024?

Hong Kong: under the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, the first weekday after Christmas Day became a statutory holiday in 2024, part of a phased alignment of statutory and general holidays ending in 2030.

On the island of Bermuda, which costumed dancers traditionally perform all over the island on Boxing Day?

The Gombeys: Bermuda's masked, brightly costumed Gombey troupes dance through the island on Boxing Day, a tradition traced to enslaved people being allowed to gather and celebrate at Christmas in the 18th century.

Junkanoo, the masquerade parade held around Boxing Day, is most associated with which countries?

The Bahamas and Jamaica: Junkanoo's biggest parades fill Nassau on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and Jamaica's Jonkonnu masquerade shares the tradition, which began among enslaved people in British colonies.

In Britain, football fixtures on Boxing Day were originally arranged against which kind of opponent?

Local rivals: Boxing Day fixtures were traditionally local derbies so that players and supporters did not have to travel far the day after Christmas, when public transport was limited.

Australia's Boxing Day cricket Test is played in which city?

The tradition dates from the 1974-75 Ashes and was formalised by the Australian Cricket Board in 1980.

The Boxing Day Test's player-of-the-match medal is named after which Indigenous cricketer?

Mullagh starred on the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England.

Which famous yacht race starts on Boxing Day each year?

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, about 630 nautical miles down the New South Wales coast and across Bass Strait to Tasmania, has started on Boxing Day since its first running in 1945.

The Boxing Day yacht race of which year ended in tragedy, with five boats sunk and six sailors dead?

1998: that year's Sydney to Hobart met a Bass Strait storm; six sailors died, five yachts sank and only 44 of 115 starters reached Hobart, after which crew experience rules were tightened.

Britain's most prestigious Boxing Day horse race, the King George VI Chase, is run at which course?

Kempton Park in Surrey stages the King George VI Chase; first run there in February 1937, the race moved to Boxing Day when it resumed after the war in 1947.

Which horse won the King George VI Chase five times between 2006 and 2011?

Kauto Star won the King George VI Chase five times, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, beating Desert Orchid's previous best of four wins.

Which 2004 law banned chasing foxes with dogs in England and Wales?

The Hunting Act 2004 banned hunting wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005; Boxing Day hunts continued as trail hunts following an artificial scent.

Which under-20 ice hockey tournament traditionally opens on Boxing Day and runs into early January?

It has an outsized following in Canada, dating from the era when it was a rare chance to face Soviet Bloc players.

The Spengler Cup, which starts on Boxing Day, is played in which Swiss town?

Davos: HC Davos has hosted the Spengler Cup since it began in 1923, and it is often cited as the world's oldest invitational ice hockey tournament.

How many goals were scored in the ten First Division matches on Boxing Day 1963?

66 goals: the First Division's Boxing Day 1963 programme produced 66 goals in ten games, including Fulham 10-1 Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers 8-2 West Ham United.

Boxing Day sales are often compared to which American shopping event?

Canadian retailers began copying Black Friday in the late 2000s to stop shoppers crossing the border.

Roughly how many UK shoppers were estimated to have hit the Boxing Day sales in 2009?

About 12 million: retailers estimated that up to 12 million UK shoppers hit the 2009 Boxing Day sales, almost 20% more than in 2008, helped by VAT's return to 17.5% on 1 January 2010.

Retailers who stretch the sales over several days market the period as what?

Boxing Week: retailers, especially in Canada, stretch the Boxing Day sales into a 'Boxing Week' that often runs right up to New Year's Eve.

The 'Boxing Day tsunami' of 2004 was triggered by an earthquake off the coast of which island?

Sumatra: the magnitude 9.1-9.3 earthquake of 26 December 2004 struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra, near Aceh, and sent tsunami waves across the Indian Ocean to 14 countries.

Roughly how many people died in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami?

About 228,000: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed an estimated 227,898 people across 14 countries, the deadliest tsunami on record, with waves up to 30 metres high in Aceh.

When Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the UK's substitute bank holidays fall on which days?

Monday and Tuesday: when Christmas Day is a Saturday and Boxing Day a Sunday, as in 2021, the UK takes substitute bank holidays on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December.

Boxing Day has been an additional bank holiday in Scotland only since which year?

1974: Boxing Day became an additional bank holiday in Scotland by royal proclamation under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971; the 1871 Act had given Scotland a different set of holidays, including New Year's Day.

What is the traditional Boxing Day meal in Britain?

Leftover turkey sandwiches or curry: the Boxing Day custom is not to cook from scratch, so Christmas leftovers are eaten cold in sandwiches or turned into a turkey curry or bubble and squeak.

Which festive dish of leftovers is eaten in Catalonia on Sant Esteve, the day after Christmas?

Canelons: on Sant Esteve, 26 December, Catalan families roll the meat left over from the Christmas escudella, turkey or capon into canelons (cannelloni) baked under béchamel.

In Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Czechia, the 26 December holiday's name translates as what?

Second Christmas Day: Germans call 26 December Zweiter Weihnachtsfeiertag and the Dutch Tweede Kerstdag, both meaning 'second Christmas day'; Poland and Czechia likewise count it as the second day of Christmas.

Which American Revolutionary battle was fought on 26 December 1776, after Washington crossed the Delaware?

The Battle of Trenton: after crossing the icy Delaware overnight, Washington's army surprised the Hessian garrison at Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of 26 December 1776, capturing about 900 men.

What do New Zealand employees who must work on Boxing Day receive?

Time and a half plus a day in lieu: under New Zealand's Holidays Act 2003, staff who work a public holiday such as Boxing Day are paid at least time and a half and receive an alternative holiday.

Which state was formally dissolved by its upper legislative chamber on 26 December 1991?

The Soviet Union: a day after Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet of the Republics, the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet, voted on 26 December 1991 to declare the USSR dissolved.

In which year did the Australian Cricket Board formalise the Boxing Day Test at the MCG?

1980: the Australian Cricket Board made the Boxing Day Test a permanent MCG fixture from 1980; earlier Tests had only occasionally spanned 26 December, as in the 1974-75 Ashes.

Which country dropped Boxing Day from its list of public holidays?

Singapore: Boxing Day was once a Singapore public holiday, with a Monday off when it fell on a weekend, but it was dropped from the list and 26 December became an ordinary working day there.

Which country added Boxing Day to its 2023 'joint holiday', or cuti bersama, list?

Indonesia: the government's 2023 joint-holiday (cuti bersama) decree added 26 December as a collective leave day alongside Christmas, although the date is not itself a national public holiday.

Which Irish racecourse's Christmas Festival opens on St Stephen's Day each year?

Leopardstown: the Dublin track's four-day Christmas Festival opens on 26 December, St Stephen's Day, and is the centrepiece of Irish jump racing over the holiday.

Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera, their first collaboration, opened on Boxing Day 1871?

Thespis, the first Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, opened at London's Gaiety Theatre on 26 December 1871 as a Christmas entertainment; almost all of its music is lost.