What is the origin of the name Boxing Day, the day that follows Christmas?

WASHINGTON — As Christmas Day gets underway, the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth countries are looking ahead to Boxing Day on Thursday.

Boxing Day is celebrated in the U.K. on Dec. 26, the day after Christmas. Despite the name, the holiday has nothing to do with the sport of boxing or returning boxes or presents.

History.com explains that one theory of the holiday’s origin is that the day after Christmas was when boxes filled with small gifts and money would be given to household servants and employees who had to work on Dec. 25. The gifts were meant as a thank you for their service throughout the year.

Despite the holiday’s origin being unclear, Dictionary.com claims it has existed since the 1700s.

As the holiday evolved over the years, it has become an extension of the Christmas season with family and friends gathering to celebrate together. In the U.K. and other British Commonwealth countries, Boxing Day is also one of the most popular shopping days of the year, rivaling Black Friday in the United States.

It should be noted, however, that Boxing Day has nothing to do with boxing or returning Christmas gifts in boxes. People in the U.K., however, have come to associate the holiday with soccer (football).

There are eight Premier League matches scheduled for Boxing Day this year.

Former soccer player and current TV analyst Robbie Earle described in a 2019 video that when he thinks of Boxing Day, he thinks of “the biggest game of the Premier League season.”