Happy Boxing Day!
Have you ever seen a calendar with “Boxing Day in Canada” listed as a holiday on Dec. 26 (or sometimes another date)? I always wondered what it meant, but I figured that those crazy Canadians had some special holiday that the rest of the world didn’t know about.
But after I looked it up, I found that the holiday, which is observed in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Canada. It has it’s roots in St. Stephen’s Day (as it is still called sometimes in Britain), when the tradition of the upper classes giving money or goods to the lower classes. Christmas Day was for gift exchanges between peers, but the days afterwards were for giving to the poor. Additionally, churches that had collected items for the poor would distribute the donations on the 26th.
I kind of liked the sound of that. And as I did more checking, I found out that some Americans had adopted the tradition. And frankly, that was that for me.
But a few years ago I had a baby. And that baby started getting toys at Christmas. And my husband and I noticed that our closets were bulging. I bought my new calendar and saw “Boxing Day.”
Hmmm…
So now we have a tradition at our house, and more than a few of our friends have picked up the idea, too. On December 26, or soon afterwards, we box up things we don’t need, or haven’t used in a long time. Last year our daughter turned four, and got in on the action. Of course, it took more than a little coaxing to get her to part with some of those toys… ok, and it took a little coaxing for me to get rid of some of my clothes… but it is slowly becoming our family’s way to give back to others.
But it has also taught us how much we have… actually it has taught us that we have too much. We don’t buy a lot of things, so it surprised both my husband and I the first year we cleaned out the closets.
So many of us have so much “stuff” and it just sits in drawers and closets… at one point it was all “must have” now it sits. Why not give it new life, and give someone else the things they really need?
So Happy Boxing Day, Everybody!
January 4th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Dear Ms. Williams,
I enjoyed your article on Boxing Day. It’s good to have a dedicated day to extend kindness to others. In that same vein, I would like to mention to you and your readers about my book “Your Unfinished Life: The Classic and Timeless Guide To Finding Happiness Through Kindness” whose premise is that we can be happier by being kinder. It contains dozens of inspirational quotations and heartwarming stories. Samples from each chapter and reviews are shown on:
http://www.YourUnfinishedLife.com
We can make every day a Boxing Day and benefit others and our own happines and self-esteem too.
Sincrely,
Larry Danks
May 26th, 2010 at 9:25 am
good lucky
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