Boxing Day dates for the coming years
| Year | Date | Weekday | UK bank holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxing Day 2026 | December 26, 2026 | Saturday | December 28, 2026 |
| Boxing Day 2027 | December 26, 2027 | Sunday | December 28, 2027 |
| Boxing Day 2028 | December 26, 2028 | Tuesday | December 26, 2028 |
| Boxing Day 2029 | December 26, 2029 | Wednesday | December 26, 2029 |
| Boxing Day 2030 | December 26, 2030 | Thursday | December 26, 2030 |
| Boxing Day 2031 | December 26, 2031 | Friday | December 26, 2031 |
| Boxing Day 2032 | December 26, 2032 | Sunday | December 28, 2032 |
Why it is called Boxing Day
Nobody is completely sure. The most common explanation is that in Victorian Britain, servants and tradespeople received a “Christmas box” of money or gifts from their employers on the day after Christmas. Another links the name to alms boxes in churches, opened to give to the poor around the feast of St. Stephen on December 26. In Ireland the day is still called St. Stephen’s Day.
When the holiday moves
When December 26 falls on a weekend, the public holiday is moved to the next working day. In England and Wales, for example, if Christmas is on a Friday, Boxing Day’s bank holiday is the following Monday, December 28. The table above shows the observed UK date for each year.
Sales and sport
In the UK, Canada and Australia, Boxing Day is famous for big post-Christmas sales. It is also a traditional day for sport: a full programme of Premier League football in England, horse racing, and the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne.