Boxing Day, which falls a day after Christmas, has nothing to do with the sport.
The day is also not related to returning Christmas gifts in boxes.
There are a number of theories behind the origin of Boxing Day.
In Britain, the day originated centuries ago as a gift-giving day. It is primarily known as a shopping day.
The day is now celebrated in many countries that previously formed part of the British Empire.
The day used to be a custom for the traders for collecting their Christmas boxes, which were filled with money or goods in lieu of the services they offer.
In Ireland, Boxing Day is called St. Stephen’s Day.
After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, St Stephen was stoned to death.
The day is celebrated in honour of St Stephen, who was the first martyr of the Christians.
As time passed by, Boxing Day was treated as a shopping holiday in countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Trinidad.
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In 1871, Boxing Day was first marked as a Bank Holiday, but Scotland introduced the holiday in 1974.
It was in 1871 when Boxing Day was marked for the first time as a Bank Holiday.
However, Scotland was the only country that introduced the holiday on Boxing Day in 1974.
What happens when Boxing Day falls on a Saturday? In such a case, the people get Monday as a holiday after the weekend off.
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In cases like this year, where Boxing Day falls on a Sunday, the people will get off next Tuesday as Monday is given as a bonus Christmas Bank Holiday.
At one point of time, sports became an integral part of Boxing Day.
On this day, there was a tradition of foxhunting by affluent British families. However, the tradition was banned in 2004.