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title: What Is Boxing Day?
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author: Sam Frizell
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article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:08:20.883Z
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# What to Know About Boxing Day

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by 

[Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/)


## Sam Frizell


Dec 26, 2014 4:06 PM UTC

by 

[Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/)


## Sam Frizell


Dec 26, 2014 4:06 PM UTC

Friday is Boxing Day, and if you’re a Yankee or just a non-Brit, you might not know what that is. In fact, even if you celebrate it, you may not know exactly what it is.

Every year on the day after Christmas, the United Kingdom, Barbados, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, and other countries celebrate the holiday, which has loose traditions and vaguer origins. In many countries, Dec. 26 is a shopping holiday much like Black Friday in the U.S., when products are sold for much-reduced prices. Celebrants enjoy the holiday through food, soccer, pub visits, seeing friends, and even an annual fox hunt.

Its origins are shrouded in speculation, but here’s what [TIME said about Boxing Day’s beginnings](http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1868711,00.html).

---

> “”

---


So enjoy your soccer and your shopping!

**READ NEXT** [Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kwanzaa](http://www.newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/26/top-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-kwanzaa/)

[_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://www.time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article)

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