Despite three matches being postponed due to Covid-19 outbreaks in some teams, the Premier League will continue the Boxing Day tradition, the round played on December 26th.
There was a time, however, when English football hosted its Christmas games on the 25th itself. It was a practice that began at the end of the 19th century and lasted until the mid-1950s.
These Christmas clashes produced some curious stories, like the one about Everton, which took to the field twice on the same day in 1888.
In their first match, on the morning of December 25, they beat Blackburn Park Road in the Lancashire Cup 3-2. Later, they played a friendly against Ulster FC and won 2-0.
Both matches were played at Anfield, home to Everton at the time and later to become the home of their biggest rivals Liverpool.
At Christmas 1937, a clash entered English football folklore.
Several games that day were postponed or suspended due to bad weather. But Chelsea and Charlton faced each other at Stamford Bridge.
The teams tied 1-1 in the second half when a thick layer of fog hung over the lawn, making it difficult for everyone to see.
Charlton goalkeeper Sam Bartram lost sight of his teammates, which led him to think that his team kept attacking Chelsea. After several minutes without seeing a single player, a policeman emerges from the fog.
“What the hell are you doing here? The game was stopped 15 minutes ago,” said the guard.
When Bartram arrived in the locker room, his teammates had already showered and couldn’t hold back their laughter when they realized that the goalkeeper had spent all that time alone on the field.
On Christmas Eve 1940, four athletes from Brighton went to Norwich to face the local club. The rest of the team, who were supposed to meet them on the 25th for the game, ended up not traveling — it was wartime and the British government discouraged travel across the country.
Even with the embezzlement, the authorities decided to go ahead with the game.
It was then necessary for fans and some youths (including Norwich) to complete the team. According to wearebrighton.com, five people watching the match volunteered to wear the visitors’ uniform.
The hosts had no mercy and thrashed Brighton 18-0. The visitors’ goalkeeper, of course, had come from the stands.
Boxing Day round games on Sunday (26)
12h 
West Ham x Southampton
Tottenham x Crystal Palace
Norwich x Arsenal
Manchester City x Leicester
14h30
Aston Villa x Chelsea
17h
Brighton x Brentford
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