While most of us will be spending Christmas Day at home with our families, a number of highly trained athletes will be taking to the sporting arena for some of the most highly‑anticipated contests of the year.
In the US, both the NFL American football and NBA basketball leagues will be holding regular season fixtures on Christmas Day there, fixture scheduling that may seem unusual to sports fans here, but something that is considered normal in the states.
There have been over 19 NFL games on Christmas Day over the past 46 years, 17 of them since 1989.
The teams taking part do their utmost to create the Christmas spirit in their stadiums.
Scheduling for the NFL season, which runs from September to February, is done in April so everybody knows eight months in advance that they will be playing on Christmas Day.
And Christmas NRL games are played in all weather, including deep snow, and are only halted for lightening.
One country that might seem ripe for Christmas Day sport is Australia, given its December summer weather is ideal for sporting fixtures.
The BBC reports Sheffield Shield cricket matches were played on Christmas Day until the late 1960s, and the Third Test between Australia and the West Indies in 1951 included action on 25 December.
Attempts over the past two years to stage Twenty20 Big Bash League cricket games on Christmas Day have failed to get off the ground.
Australia will hunt for a 2‑1 series lead over India at the MCG in their Boxing Day Test.
