BOXING DAY!

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Boxing Day, the first day after Christmas, is a holiday celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas of the world settled by the English (except for the USA). Its name comes from the 19th-century English tradition of giving boxes of food or money to service people and servants on the day after Christmas.

It is generally considered a day for visiting with family or taking advantage of after-Christmas sales, but over the years Boxing Day has become synonymous with a full slate of soccer matches.

It's a sporting tradition akin to the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving or the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Just as Americans gather for holiday football, the English celebrate Christmas with soccer on Boxing Day.

All 20 teams in the Barclay Premiership play on Boxing Day:

Saturday, 26 December 2009
Birmingham v Chelsea, 12:45
Burnley v Bolton, 14:00
Fulham v Tottenham, 13:00
Liverpool v Wolverhampton, 17:30
Man City v Stoke, 15:00
Sunderland v Everton, 15:00
West Ham v Portsmouth, 13:00
Wigan v Blackburn, 15:00

Sunday, 27 December 2009
Arsenal v Aston Villa, 13:30
Hull City v Man Utd, 16:00

[epjr]

Here's the Boxing Day TV lineup:

ESPN2
BIRMINGHAM-CHELSEA (live) 7:45 am.

FOX SOCCER CHANNEL
FULHAM-TOTTENHAM (live) 8 am.
SUNDERLAND-EVERTON (live) 10 am.
LIVERPOOL-WOLVERHAMPTON (live) 12:30 pm.
BURNLEY-BOLTON (delay) 2:30 pm.

SETANTA SPORTS
WEST HAM-PORTSMOUTH (live) 7:55 am.
MANCHESTER CITY-STOKE CITY (live) 9:55 am.
LEICESTER-SHEFFIELD UNITED (live) 2:55 pm.

[epjr]

BOXING DAY MATCH RESULTS

Birmingham City 0:0 Chelsea @st Andrews Stadium (28,958)
Fulham 0:0 Tottenham Hotspur @craven Cottage (25,679)
West Ham United 2:0 Portsmouth @upton Park (33,686)
Burnley 1:1 Bolton Wanderers @turf Moor (21,761)
Manchester City 2:0 Stoke City @city Stadium (47,325)
Sunderland 1:1 Everton @stadium of Light (46,990)
Wigan Athletic 1:1 Blackburn Rovers @dw Stadium (20,243)
Liverpool 2:0 Wolverhampton Wanderers @anfield (41,956)

[epjr]

Boxing Day - 2010

Traditional English holiday extends Christmas giving
Despite its name, Boxing Day, which is celebrated on December 26 in Great Britain, has nothing to do with pugilistic competition. Nor is it a day for people to return unwanted Christmas presents. While the exact origins of the holiday are obscure, it is likely that Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages. Some historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes.

Church Alms Boxes

Another theory is that the boxes placed in churches where parishioners deposited coins for the poor were opened and the contents distributed on December 26, which is also the Feast of St. Stephen. As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. This tradition survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, mail carriers, doormen, porters, and others who have helped them.


The Day after Christmas Day

Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas Day, and is celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas settled by the English (the U.S. is the major exception), including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Just as New Years Day in the US has become a day filled with Gridiron Football; December 26th has become a day filled with Association football.


Sun-12/26
Fulham vs. West Ham
Everton vs. Birmingham
Manchester Utd vs. Sunderland
Newcastle vs. Manchester City
Blackburn vs. Stoke City
Bolton vs. WBA
Wolverhampton vs. Wigan
Blackpool vs. Liverpool
Aston Villa vs. Tottenham

Mon-12/27
Arsenal vs. Chelsea


Sun-12/26
Crystal Palace vs. Norwich City
Queens Park Rangers vs. Swansea City
Portsmouth vs. Millwall
Derby County vs. Doncaster Rovers
Ipswich Town vs. Watford
Leicester City vs. Leeds United
Postponed
Middlesbrough vs. Nottingham Forest
Postponed
Barnsley vs. Burnley
Sheffield United vs. Hull City
Reading vs. Bristol City
Cardiff City vs. Coventry City
Postponed
Scun thorpe United vs. Preston North End
Postponed