About St. Stephen's Day
Boxing Day falls on 26 December and is observed across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries. In much of continental Europe the same date is observed as Saint Stephen's Day, the feast of the first Christian martyr. The English name is medieval in origin: the alms boxes in parish churches were opened on this day and their contents distributed to the poor, and household staff who had worked through Christmas Day were given a small gift box and the day off. Today Boxing Day functions as the second day of Christmas — an extension of the holiday rather than a separate observance.
In the United Kingdom Boxing Day is famously a day of sport and shopping: Premier League football, horse racing at Kempton, the start of the post-Christmas sales. Australians watch the Boxing Day Test cricket match at the MCG and the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. In Ireland, hunt meets gather and the Wren Boys parade through villages. Continental Europe is much quieter: families revisit the Christmas table, take walks, and attend St Stephen's mass. In Germany and Austria the day is a normal holiday with everything closed. In Italy and Spain it is a slow family day with leftovers from Christmas lunch. Shops are open in the UK and Commonwealth but closed across most of mainland Europe.