PREMIER LEAGUE
What is the origin of Boxing Day games in the Premier League?
The global fanbases of Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea and the rest, can all settle down to some top festive action. But why?
For many, the best part of the Christmas holidays is all the top level football we get to watch on television -- or actually at the ground if we’ve been extra good boys and girls this year -- as we pig out on leftover turkey, boxes of chocolate and a beverage of our choice.
Lest we forget that it was only 12 months ago when Christmas matches in the English top flight were under threat due to rising numbers of covid cases at several clubs, but it all worked out for the Boxing Day fixtures. And 2022 sees a bumper collection of seven games, the other three from this round of the schedule taking place in the two subsequent days. This year also stands out as being the first time the festive fixtures come right after a World Cup.
When is Boxing Day?
Boxing Day falls on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day. It is a public bank holiday in the UK and something you may not know is that when 26 December falls on a Saturday, the Boxing Day bank holiday is moved to the following Monday. If 26 December falls on a Sunday, then the holiday is the following Tuesday, Christmas taking the previous day’s slot.
Why is it called Boxing Day?
The name derives from the rich families’ tradition of boxing up and giving presents to their servants on 26 December. Boxing Day was traditionally a holiday for servants, when they would receive a special Christmas box from their masters and go home to give the boxes to their families.
Why is football played in the Premier League on Boxing Day?
Christmas Day is now a football-free day, but this wasn’t always the case. In the days before television, there would be a full programme of matches on 25 December.
In 1957, the UK held the last ever Christmas Day football game and from then on Boxing Day became the traditional day for football across the nation.
While most other European countries are enjoying their winter breaks, the English and Scottish leagues are just a few of the competitions playing matches during the festive period. Originally, teams played local rivals on 25/26 December due to the lack of infrastructure in place to ferry them around, in often harsh winters.