Boxing Day: What It Is, Why It's Called That and What To Do

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is 26 December, the day after Christmas Day, and a bank holiday across the UK. When it falls on a weekend, the following weekday becomes a substitute bank holiday.

The name almost certainly comes from the Christmas boxes given to servants, tradespeople and the poor on the day after Christmas - alms boxes in churches were opened and distributed then too. It has nothing to do with the sport.

Below: what actually happens on the day in Britain, the traditions worth keeping, and how to fill an afternoon that can otherwise sag badly.

Thank you cards for everything you unwrapped

Boxing Day is the day to write them, while you still know who sent what. Blank-inside cards, designed in house and printed in the UK.

Celebrate That SLAAAAAY! Well Done Card Celebrate That SLAAAAAY! Well Done Card £3.87 Guinness themed thank you card with a pint of stout illustration and the pun text Tanks A Million. Tanks A Million (Guinness Themed Thank You Card) £3.87 Thank you and well done greeting card featuring a star design and the wording "You're a Star". You're a Star (Thank You or Well Done Card) £3.87 Thank you card showing an illustrated pint of Guinness with a cheeky message about celebrating with a stout. Thank You! (This Calls For a Guinness Thank You Card) £3.87 Thank You Gold Foil Velvet Greeting Card (A6) Thank You Gold Foil Velvet Greeting Card (A6) £4.49 Landscape thank you greeting card featuring vibrant, colourful letters spelling out "Thank You" for a colleague or friend. Thank You Card With Colourful Letters (Landscape) £3.87

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Boxing Day facts

  • Date: 26 December, every year, across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  • It's a bank holiday. If it lands on a Saturday or Sunday, a substitute weekday holiday follows.
  • In Ireland the same day is St Stephen's Day.
  • The name comes from Christmas boxes for servants and tradespeople, not from boxing.
  • The Boxing Day football fixture list is one of the busiest of the English season.
  • It is traditionally the biggest sales day of the UK retail year, though online has shifted much of it to Christmas Day itself.
  • Hunting, walks, sea swims and pantomimes are all long-standing Boxing Day fixtures.

Why is it called Boxing Day?

  • Employers gave household staff a Christmas box of money, food or leftovers on 26 December, their day off after working Christmas Day.
  • Churches opened their alms boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents to the poor.
  • Tradespeople - the postman, the milkman, the coalman - collected a box or tip on their rounds.
  • The term is recorded in Britain from the early 1800s and spread across the Commonwealth.
  • It has no connection to the sport of boxing, despite the persistent pub theory.

Boxing Day traditions

  • A long walk, regardless of weather, mostly to escape the house.
  • The Boxing Day football fixtures, ideally a local derby.
  • Cold cuts, bubble and squeak, pickles and a turkey sandwich the size of a brick.
  • A charity sea swim, if you live anywhere near a coast.
  • Pantomime season opening.
  • Board games, a jigsaw and an argument about the rules.
  • The sales, in person or online.
  • Visiting the side of the family you didn't see on Christmas Day.

What to do on Boxing Day

  • Book a walk with a pub at the end of it - the only plan that reliably works.
  • Host a low-effort buffet: everything cold, everything out at once, no cooking.
  • Run a family quiz - see our Christmas quiz questions.
  • Games afternoon: cards, charades, a big jigsaw on the dining table.
  • Go to a match, or watch three back to back.
  • Take a cold swim and then never stop talking about it.
  • Write your thank you cards while you still remember who gave you what.
  • Do nothing at all, deliberately, and defend it.

Boxing Day food

  • Bubble and squeak from the leftover potatoes and sprouts.
  • Turkey and stuffing sandwiches with cranberry, in a soft white roll.
  • Cold cuts, pork pie, pickles and cheese - the classic Boxing Day plate.
  • Turkey curry, if there's enough left and the appetite for it.
  • Soup from the carcass, made on Christmas night.
  • Cheese board and the last of the chocolates for the evening.

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How to write it so it lands

  • Write your thank you cards on Boxing Day - by New Year you'll have forgotten half of them.
  • Plan one thing that gets everyone out of the house, even for an hour.
  • Put everything on the table cold at 1pm and refuse to cook a second Christmas dinner.

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Frequently asked questions

When is Boxing Day?

Boxing Day is 26 December every year. It's a UK bank holiday, and if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday a substitute bank holiday is given on the following weekday.

Why is it called Boxing Day?

From the Christmas boxes of money, food or gifts given to servants, tradespeople and the poor on the day after Christmas, and from church alms boxes being opened and distributed. It has nothing to do with the sport.

Is Boxing Day a bank holiday in the UK?

Yes, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Ireland the same date is St Stephen's Day.

What do people do on Boxing Day?

Walks, football, the sales, cold leftovers, pantomime, board games and visiting relatives. Charity sea swims are increasingly common along the coast.

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