Boxing Day occurs on December 26.

Boxing Day is observed annually on December 26. If it falls on a weekend, the public holiday itself will be celebrated on Monday. It became an official holiday during the reign of Queen Victoria, though some historians trace its origins back much further—to medieval times. Today, it’s largely an extension of the Christmas holiday and a big day for sporting events and shopping.

No one really knows where the name Boxing Day originated.

Many historians think Boxing Day’s name is derived from the church practice of opening alms boxes the day after Christmas and distributing money to the poor. Historically, British employers followed the church’s lead by sliding workers and servants gifts or cash on December 26. Others believe the “box” refers to the boxes of gifts employers gave to their servants on the day after Christmas. (In wealthy households, servants were often required to work on Christmas Day but given December 26 off to celebrate the holiday on their own.)

No one really knows where the name Boxing Day originated.

Historically, Boxing Day’s post-Christmas sales have long made it one of the UK’s busiest shopping days of the year. And while it still falls within that category, the popularity of online shopping has reduced the overall spending people do on December 26. Fifteen years ago it was pretty much guaranteed that you would only get big sales a few times a year—Boxing Day and the big summer clearance but Black Friday and Cyber Monday illustrate Christmas sales are starting earlier and earlier. There is a possibility prices will just keep on dropping in the run-up to Christmas. This makes the Boxing Day sales incredibly diluted.

There is no boxing involved in Boxing Day.

Despite the name, British observances of Boxing Day involve no fisticuffs. For patricians, however, another sport rules the day: fox hunting. Though it’s a long-held tradition, many animal rights activists and groups would like to see the practice done away with altogether—especially because it’s technically illegal.

In Ireland, December 26 is sometimes known as Wren Day.

Ireland sometimes refers to December 26 as Wren Day, a nod to an old tradition in which poor children would kill a wren, then sell the feathers to neighbors for good luck. In today’s celebrations, the wren is fake.