Today is Boxing Day. What in the world is that you ask! Is it time to clean out all the empty Christmas gifts and add them to recyclable trash bins? What about breaking the boxes apart and sliding down a snowy hill if you happen to have in snow in your neighborhood? Better yet, young children love to play with and in boxes. That will entertain them for a few days.
However, none of these ideas pertain to Boxing Day as it is celebrated in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The custom was started about 800 years ago in what is now Great Britain and spread to all the colonies in the British Empire.
Churches had Alms Boxes where coins and money were left to aid the poor. The day after Christmas, each church emptied their Alms Boxes and gave the contents to the poor and needy. The custom still is followed in parts of the United Kingdom today.
Also, since it is the day after Christmas, it is still a holiday. Men spend time hunting, racing horses, and playing football. Of course, that is not our variety of football, but the one played all over the world. Women go shopping.
If you remember correctly, what is the United States today was once a British Colony. So, if all the other former colonies celebrate Boxing Day, why don’t we? Again, remember we decided we didn’t want the King of England telling us what do. After all, he didn’t speak English, only German. We had wise men who concocted a new form of government, of certain rights and privileges for all people. The government was to be for the people, by the people.
After some quirks in the system, it became workable. Through two hundred forty-two years it has worked quite well with a few tweaks as needed.
But some of the American Colonists were members of the Church of England, the church that supports Boxing Day. Remember again the American Colonies chose Freedom of Religion; where each of us can worship in a place of our choice, or none at all. When the Revolutionary War began, those men who volunteered to fight for American freedom were ousted from the Church of England.
No one since then has chosen to initiate Boxing Day here. However, women over here go shopping and men watch our type of football relentlessly in late December. But it is a great idea to help those who have less, who are hungry and cold. Keep them in mind this week.