What Boxing Day actually is and what it has to do with Christmas and football – 40 degrees, massive power outages and fatalities: US suffers the cold at Christmas

The celebration of St. Stephen’s Day has a longer tradition than Christmas. Because even though we like to talk about Boxing Day today, the holiday is actually dedicated to Stephen, who is considered the first Christian martyr.

The situation is similar in the countries that celebrate Boxing Day, such as Great Britain and many Commonwealth countries. Again there is no direct connection with Christmas, but with Stephen.

Several theories about the origin of the term

The origin of the term Boxing Day is not fully elucidated, but a connection with charitable purposes is certain. And hence St. Stephen, who is said to have been involved in his office as a deacon, including in the distribution of alms to the poor, is not far.

There are several theories for the exact explanation of the origin of the word:

Today is about sports and shopping

Whatever the exact origin, the actual meaning has weakened over the years anyway. Today, Boxing Day is known for more mundane activities. The day is considered a big shopping day, on which money is handed out, vouchers are exchanged, but many Christmas gifts are immediately exchanged again.

Especially on the football-crazy island, the day is also a highlight on the sports calendar. The matches of the Premier League and the other top football competitions become family outings and many tourists also make a pilgrimage to the stadiums. Boxing Day is also becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland, for example in sports bars. Cricket is traditionally played on this day in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Boxing Day has been a public holiday in the United Kingdom since 1871. Interesting side note: if this falls on a weekend, the following Monday is also considered a so-called bank holiday and many Britons have the day off. (aargauerzeitung.ch)