Saint Stephen's Day bandy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saint Stephen's Day bandyAnndandagsbandy
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2004 Saint Stephen's Day game between Bollnäs GoIF and Edsbyns IF.
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| Status | active |
| Genre | sporting event |
| Date(s) | 26 December |
| Frequency | annual |
| Inaugurated | 1930's |
Saint Stephen's Day bandy (called Annandagsbandy in Swedish) is a special sports event in Sweden. It happens every year on December 26th, which is Saint Stephen's Day. On this day, some of the best bandy teams play exciting matches. Bandy is a bit like ice hockey, but it's played with a ball instead of a puck. Over the years, this event has become a fun Christmas tradition for many people in Sweden.
How It Started
The tradition of Saint Stephen's Day bandy began in the 1930s. Two bandy clubs, IF Göta and Slottsbrons IF, decided to play a special match on Saint Stephen's Day. This type of game, played just for fun or practice, is called an Exhibition game.
At first, some people from the Church of Sweden were not happy about sports games being played on a holiday. But even with these concerns, the event became very popular. More and more people loved watching bandy on this special day.
Season Start Changes
For many years, the Saint Stephen's Day match was not always the very first game of the main bandy season.
- Before 1957, it was often the last friendly game before the season officially started on New Year's Day.
- From 1957 to 1961, the top bandy league in Sweden, called Elitserien, actually began its season on Saint Stephen's Day.
- In 1962, the season started a little later, on December 31st.
- After 1963, the bandy season began even earlier in December.
- Since the 1966–67 season, games have started as early as November.
Other Sports Join In
For a long time, Saint Stephen's Day bandy was the only big sports event happening during the Christmas holidays in Sweden. But that changed around the year 2000. Because bandy was so popular, other sports started to play games on December 26th too. Now, you can also watch handball and ice hockey matches on Saint Stephen's Day. Because of this, people sometimes talk about "Saint Stephen's Day sports" (Annandagsidrott) instead of just bandy.
