More recently - well, in the late 19th Century – football was played over the festive period because Christmas Day, and later Boxing Day, were public holidays. This enabled the masses to attend matches on a rare day off. Attendances were often season-high.

There has not been a game played on Christmas Day in this country since 1965, but Boxing Day football remains the norm and, for the first time in 28 years, there will be Christmas Eve football in the Premier League when we travel to Wolves tomorrow. We last played on 24 December in 1966.

Many of the current Chelsea crop are preparing to play over Christmas for the first time in their professional careers. Most leagues in Europe play until close to Christmas, before pausing for a winter break usually spanning at least a couple of weeks.

In North and South America, longer breaks over Christmas are the norm, with leagues wrapping up in October or November. That was what Djordje Petrovic experienced over the past two winters.

‘In the MLS the season was done in October and I had three months off,’ he tells us.

‘I had never had three months off! In Serbia, you have three weeks off in the summer, and three weeks off in the winter. Now I had a straight three months!

‘You needed a good plan, because you had to train otherwise you would put weight on, but you also needed a rest. So I did something simple.

‘It is my first time playing at Christmas,’ Djordje continues. ‘We have a very tight schedule, we play every three days. Even after in the new year we have a tight schedule, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Premier League…

‘But we enjoy that. We prefer to play games!’

As an Orthodox Christian, Petrovic celebrates Christmas on 7 January, like many in southern and eastern Europe. However, 25 December will still mean something special because it is his first wedding anniversary. He jokes he will be a busy man in the next fortnight, what between playing for Chelsea and buying presents!

Lesley Ugochukwu has spent the past couple of winter breaks visiting extended family in Nigeria. Now, after recovering from injury, he is preparing to wake up on 24 December, when the French celebrate Christmas, in Wolverhampton.

‘It’s going to be weird playing on Christmas Eve,’ he acknowledges.

‘It’s going to be a new thing for me. Last season I played in the Europa League with Stade Rennais so we did have a lot of games, but not in such a short period like this. It’s going to be a new thing for me, but I’m looking forward to it.

‘I just want to win every game. We just want to give a small smile to our fans in that period. That’s going to be my Christmas gift, winning every game in that period.

‘And I’m excited to spend Christmas with my Chelsea family!’