The Boxing Day fixture list is one of the most anticipated and celebrated days of the Premier League season.
This season, 12 of the 20 Premier League teams have scheduled matches on Boxing Day, with another two playing the following day (complete schedule at the end of this post).
Other leagues around Europe take a two-week break around the Christmas and New Year holidays, but the UK piles on the fixtures. U.S. fans can equate the day to how the NFL is synonymous with Thanksgiving, or (to a lesser extent) how Christmas Day is for the NBA. Premier League games rack up ratings as fans plan to be home planted on the couch, feasting on Christmas Day leftovers and enjoying Premier League soccer.
MORE: Your Premier League Boxing Day guide
So what is Boxing Day and how did it come to such prominence? Here’s a brief run-through of the history and tradition surrounding Boxing Day in the UK.
What is Boxing Day?
Boxing Day is an annual holiday in England that falls on December 26, or the day after Christmas. It is a “bank holiday” — essentially what Americans would refer to as a federal holiday — meaning most businesses are closed and most employees have the day off.
The term “Boxing Day” has been traced back to Charles Dickens who coined the term in 1833, and Boxing Day has been an established holiday since 1871, although the holiday itself is thought to date all the way back to Victorian times. It is named for the…
