For years people have mistakenly believed Boxing Day to be so-called due to the presentation of boxes of Christmas goodies by employers to staff on the day after Christmas, or otherwise due to all the discarded packaging left over from the big day itself.

But here’s a little-known festive fact for you: Boxing Day is actually named because it is the day of the calendar statistically most likely for footballers to cross the ball into the penalty area or ‘box’.

I’ve made that up, but Boxing Day football is as much a part of the fabric of British society as discussing the weather, queuing and Judi Dench.

The hectic Christmas fixture schedule is a large part of the reason our football culture is so much richer than our European neighbours but also why we are far less likely to beat any of them in a post-season tournament.

Just picture Messi and Ronaldo, Munich and Milan all tucked up on their sofas, sipping guava juice and nibbling avocado slices watching whatever satellite channel is screening Jordan Henderson thudding into a sliding 50-50 challenge against Danny Drinkwater in the centre circle.

They’ll pick themselves up, roll their socks up, keep gunning away at 90mph and then do it all over again two days later and then four days after that.

I wouldn’t have it any other way. God bless Britain.

There are three ways of doing festive football properly, or you could combine all three in some way, like I intend to this year.

First, sit at home, surrounded by people you like, your in-laws, Christmas goodies and discarded packaging and turn the TV channel over from Arthur Christmas to watch live football pretty much from noon until nine. You can even have a nap or two if you like – it’s Christmas.

Second option is far harder. You can leave your house early in the morning, attempt to find some public transport actually running, which will get you within an hour’s walk of the stadium in which your beloved team are playing.

Then you can stand there, surrounded by snoozy, hungover strangers in silly hats, engulfed in a fog of beer burps and sprout farts and watch your team play out an uninspiring draw because, really, everyone would take an uninspiring draw on Boxing Day.

Thirdly, you could go and see your local team play a non-league game. You generally see the biggest crowd of the year at the Boxing Day derbies and often the most goals, with the amateur players often feeling the effects of the previous day’s excesses.

You see generations of families doing something together, perhaps for the first time in months, you’ll bump into neighbours and work colleagues and familiar faces and you’ll be 70% certain you could do better than the left-back who clearly overdid it on the Quality Street at breakfast that morning.

Whichever you choose, Boxing Day is special day in the footballing calendar and one which, as with all good things, will probably come to an end one day.

So enjoy it while you can. We’re lucky to have it.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine!