Even before the birth of Christianity, what we now know as Christmas time was a period of celebration for Germanic pagans. The period was called Yule, essentially a midwinter festival. It lasted for twelve days toward the end of December and marked the end of the most severe winter weather and the lengthening of the days. 

The rise of Christianity 

With the rise of Christianity, many pagan traditions were converted to Catholic holidays. The twelve days of Yule, for instance, became the twelve days of Christmas. Christmas time started on December 25, or ‘First Christmas Day’ – the day when Jezus Christ was born. Twelve days later, on January 6, the festivities came to a close on Epiphany, the day when three wise men came to visit baby Jezus in Bethlehem. 

Not two, not three, but four Christmas Days 

During the Mains Concilium, a church gathering in 813, it was decided that – alongside December 25 – more Christmas Days needed to be added to the Christmas period. It ended up being four days, on which it was forbidden to work as this was said to be bad luck. Some days were also endowed with a specific meaning. Second Christmas Day (aka Boxing Day), for instance, revolved around animals and Fourth Christmas Day around children. 

Soon after it was introduced, Fourth Christmas Day was cancelled. And in 1773, Third Christmas Day also went the way of the dodo. At some point in the 18th century, it was even considered to cancel Second Christmas Day, but these plans never materialized. 

On July 25, 1964, the General Extension of Time-limits Act was signed. This was a Dutch law that laid down the generally recognized national holidays in the Netherlands. Both Christmas Day and Boxing Day were included in the list. 

Why here and not elsewhere? 

But why do we celebrate Boxing Day here, while many other countries don’t? This may well be because of the Germanic and Catholic origins of the holiday. After all, the Germanic people – on whose Yule we base our current Christmas period – and the Catholics – who introduced multiple Christmas days – can traditionally mostly be found in Europe. So it’s no coincidence that Boxing Day is celebrated as a national holiday almost exclusively by European countries that are (or were) Catholic. 

Extra day off 

In spite of the religious character of Boxing Day having dwindled down, and the general decrease of Christianity in the Netherlands, the bank holiday was never cancelled. But okay, whether you fill the day with honoring religious traditions, visiting your grandparents or binging a series, nobody minds having an extra day off, right?