Boxing Day to Twelfth Night
What happens after the crackers have been pulled.
Boxing Day
Boxing Day, 26 December, is a holiday in Britain and some Commonwealth countries. Traditionally, servants, tradespeople and the poor were given gifts on that day. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Boxing Day
Nobody is sure where the name comes from. Some say it is from church alms boxes being opened for the poor; others say it is from boxes of gifts given to workers the day after Christmas. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Boxing Day
St Stephen’s Day in the Isle of Man
Hunt the Wren happens on St Stephen’s Day, 26 December, and has gone on in the Isle of Man without a break for longer than written records. Culture Vannin: Hunt the Wren, a short history of a Manx custom
New Year
Singing “Auld Lang Syne” at New Year, now a worldwide custom, began at Hogmanay in Scotland. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Hogmanay Hogmanay “first footing” says the first visitor after midnight brings luck, especially a tall, dark-haired man carrying a gift such as coal or salt. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Hogmanay
Twelfth Night and Epiphany
Britannica describes Twelfth Night as the evening before Epiphany, 5 January. On that night many families leave out hay, carrots and water for the Wise Men’s camels. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Twelfth Night The next morning children find small presents in their shoes, in honour of the Wise Men’s gifts. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Twelfth Night
In Italy, Befana is an old woman who fills children’s stockings with presents at Epiphany, 6 January. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Befana
Britannica gives Twelfth Night as 5 January, the evening before Epiphany. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Twelfth Night Culture Vannin gives Twelfth Night as 6 January (Old Christmas Day). Culture Vannin: Kiaull Manninagh Jiu, December 2016 (Manx music and dance at Christmas)
The weather
For the Met Office, a “white Christmas” needs just one snowflake to be seen falling in the 24 hours of 25 December, by an official observer or automatic weather station. Met Office: White Christmas and UK Christmas weather records
Snow lying widely on the ground on Christmas Day is much rarer. Since 1960 it has happened only four times: in 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010. Met Office: White Christmas and UK Christmas weather records
The Met Office says that, technically, 2023 was the last white Christmas in the UK, with 11% of stations recording falling snow but none with snow lying. Met Office: White Christmas and UK Christmas weather records · checked 30 Oct 2026
The warmest UK Christmas Day temperature on record is 15.6 °C, at Killerton in Devon in 1920. Met Office: White Christmas and UK Christmas weather records
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