December 26th 2010 - Boxing Day
Matthew 24:42-51 -
"To whom much is given of him will much be required."
Today is a Boxing Day in Canada, Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and other places around the world. What is "Boxing Day"? According to Wikipedia, "Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December and is observed in Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and in some Commonwealth of Nations that have a mainly Christian population. In South Africa, the public holiday 26 December is called Day of Goodwill, in Ireland St Stephen's Day, and in continental European countries the "Second Christmas Day."
It is a "fixed date", like Christmas, and occurs on December 26th, the day after Christmas AND the Feast Day of St. Stephen. The tradition has long included giving money and other gifts to the needy and those in service positions. The European tradition dates to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. Some claim it dates to the late Roman/early Christian era when metal boxes placed outside churches collected special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen.
Even though exact origins of the tradition are not documented, it seems to be relatively unimportant to do so. The importance of the day is its focus on "doing for others - for the less fortunate - for those who serve us and make our lives "work" on a day-to-day basis.
Interestingly enough, we find a clue to Boxing Day's origins in the Christmas Carol, "Good King Wenceslas."
"Good King, Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen.
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.
"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou knowest in telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence, by St. Agnes' fountain,"
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine! Bring me pine logs hither!
Thou and I will see him dine when we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went - forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the winter weather.
"Sire, the night is darker now and the wind blows stronger.
Fails my heart. I know not how I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps well, my page. Tread thou in them boldly.
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."
In his master's steps he trod where the snow lay dinted.
Heat was in the very sod which the Saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank professing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing."
Wenceslas, who was Duke of Bohemia in the early 10th century, was surveying his land on St. Stephen's Day - December 26th - when he saw a poor man gathering wood in the middle of a snowstorm. Deeply moved, the King gathered up surplus food and wine and carried them through the blizzard to the peasant's door.
The alms-giving tradition has always been closely associated with the Christmas season - hence the canned-food drives and Salvation Army Santas that we see so particularly during the winter - but King Wenceslas' good deed came the day after Christmas, when the English poor received most of their charity.
In the United Kingdom, it became a custom of the nineteenth-century Victorians for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" or gifts on the day after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year - perhaps a kind of precursor to our present-day custom of "tipping".
Another possibility is that the name derives from an old English tradition: in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses (and sometimes leftover food).
During the "Age of Exploration", when great sailing ships set off to discover new land, the Christmas box was a good luck device. It was a small container that priests placed on each ship while it was still in port. Crewmen, to ensure a safe return, dropped money in the box. It was then sealed and kept on board for the entire voyage. If the ship came home safely, the crew gave the box to the priest in exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks. The Priest kept the box sealed until Christmas, and then opened it to share the contents with the poor.
An 'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshipers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became known as Boxing Day.
Whatever the origin and whatever the "reasons" the custom began, I love the focus on "giving gifts" . . . from wherever they emanate! Our response to receiving God's best "Gift" seems to me to be beautifully expressed in the giving to others! As I have mentioned several times in some of these meditations, I find it MOST blessed to give to those who cannot give "in kind" in return to me.
An "epiphany" (lower case "e") is a sudden realization or revealing of the complete meaning of a given event or concept/principle. To experience an "epiphany" on a personal level is a bit like finding the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle needed to complete the entire puzzle and its picture.
In the traditions of the Western church, the Epiphany (upper case "E") of the Lord is celebrated on January 6th and is celebratory of the realization that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In church tradition and practice, the day of Epiphany coincides with celebrations of the Adoration of the Magi and the incarnation of the Infant Christ. It is celebrated on January 6th which is the 12th day of Christmas.
In the Protestant church, particularly, Epiphany is celebrated as an entire season, extending from the Day of Epiphany (the end of the Christmas season) to Ash Wednesday. The "season" of Epiphany carries with it both an emphasis on gift-giving and on missions within the church. We learn from the gifts presented by the Magi to the Christ Child that our own response to what we have been given is to give in return!!
We tend to mush things up way too much during this time of year . . . we start celebrating "Christmas" before the turkey turns to turkey hash at Thanksgiving - - - we sing "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night" on the first Sunday in December without ever singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" and others of a more introspective timbre, and then wonder why we're "tired of Christmas" before it ever gets here!!
I have spent years as a church music professional trying to raise the awareness level of folks I serve in that capacity, and to encourage them to change the way they approach the entire experience. It hasn't been easy to effect changes, and I consider my efforts mostly unsuccessful, but that isn't going to stop me from trying!!
If we would just take the Season of Advent - four weeks, including Sundays, before Christmas Day, to experience the "waiting" and the "expectation" of that time, and NOT being an all-out celebration of the BIRTH of Christ before it's time and then have our celebrations during the 12 days AFTER Christmas Day, we might feel very differently about "Christmas". I encourage you to "try it" for yourselves. Let me know if I can help!!
Matthew 24:42-51 -
"To whom much is given of him will much be required."
Today is a Boxing Day in Canada, Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and other places around the world. What is "Boxing Day"? According to Wikipedia, "Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December and is observed in Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and in some Commonwealth of Nations that have a mainly Christian population. In South Africa, the public holiday 26 December is called Day of Goodwill, in Ireland St Stephen's Day, and in continental European countries the "Second Christmas Day."
It is a "fixed date", like Christmas, and occurs on December 26th, the day after Christmas AND the Feast Day of St. Stephen. The tradition has long included giving money and other gifts to the needy and those in service positions. The European tradition dates to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. Some claim it dates to the late Roman/early Christian era when metal boxes placed outside churches collected special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen.
Even though exact origins of the tradition are not documented, it seems to be relatively unimportant to do so. The importance of the day is its focus on "doing for others - for the less fortunate - for those who serve us and make our lives "work" on a day-to-day basis.
Interestingly enough, we find a clue to Boxing Day's origins in the Christmas Carol, "Good King Wenceslas."
"Good King, Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen.
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.
"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou knowest in telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence, by St. Agnes' fountain,"
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine! Bring me pine logs hither!
Thou and I will see him dine when we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went - forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the winter weather.
"Sire, the night is darker now and the wind blows stronger.
Fails my heart. I know not how I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps well, my page. Tread thou in them boldly.
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."
In his master's steps he trod where the snow lay dinted.
Heat was in the very sod which the Saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank professing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing."
Wenceslas, who was Duke of Bohemia in the early 10th century, was surveying his land on St. Stephen's Day - December 26th - when he saw a poor man gathering wood in the middle of a snowstorm. Deeply moved, the King gathered up surplus food and wine and carried them through the blizzard to the peasant's door.
The alms-giving tradition has always been closely associated with the Christmas season - hence the canned-food drives and Salvation Army Santas that we see so particularly during the winter - but King Wenceslas' good deed came the day after Christmas, when the English poor received most of their charity.
In the United Kingdom, it became a custom of the nineteenth-century Victorians for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" or gifts on the day after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year - perhaps a kind of precursor to our present-day custom of "tipping".
Another possibility is that the name derives from an old English tradition: in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses (and sometimes leftover food).
During the "Age of Exploration", when great sailing ships set off to discover new land, the Christmas box was a good luck device. It was a small container that priests placed on each ship while it was still in port. Crewmen, to ensure a safe return, dropped money in the box. It was then sealed and kept on board for the entire voyage. If the ship came home safely, the crew gave the box to the priest in exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks. The Priest kept the box sealed until Christmas, and then opened it to share the contents with the poor.
An 'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshipers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became known as Boxing Day.
Whatever the origin and whatever the "reasons" the custom began, I love the focus on "giving gifts" . . . from wherever they emanate! Our response to receiving God's best "Gift" seems to me to be beautifully expressed in the giving to others! As I have mentioned several times in some of these meditations, I find it MOST blessed to give to those who cannot give "in kind" in return to me.
An "epiphany" (lower case "e") is a sudden realization or revealing of the complete meaning of a given event or concept/principle. To experience an "epiphany" on a personal level is a bit like finding the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle needed to complete the entire puzzle and its picture.
In the traditions of the Western church, the Epiphany (upper case "E") of the Lord is celebrated on January 6th and is celebratory of the realization that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In church tradition and practice, the day of Epiphany coincides with celebrations of the Adoration of the Magi and the incarnation of the Infant Christ. It is celebrated on January 6th which is the 12th day of Christmas.
In the Protestant church, particularly, Epiphany is celebrated as an entire season, extending from the Day of Epiphany (the end of the Christmas season) to Ash Wednesday. The "season" of Epiphany carries with it both an emphasis on gift-giving and on missions within the church. We learn from the gifts presented by the Magi to the Christ Child that our own response to what we have been given is to give in return!!
We tend to mush things up way too much during this time of year . . . we start celebrating "Christmas" before the turkey turns to turkey hash at Thanksgiving - - - we sing "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night" on the first Sunday in December without ever singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" and others of a more introspective timbre, and then wonder why we're "tired of Christmas" before it ever gets here!!
I have spent years as a church music professional trying to raise the awareness level of folks I serve in that capacity, and to encourage them to change the way they approach the entire experience. It hasn't been easy to effect changes, and I consider my efforts mostly unsuccessful, but that isn't going to stop me from trying!!
If we would just take the Season of Advent - four weeks, including Sundays, before Christmas Day, to experience the "waiting" and the "expectation" of that time, and NOT being an all-out celebration of the BIRTH of Christ before it's time and then have our celebrations during the 12 days AFTER Christmas Day, we might feel very differently about "Christmas". I encourage you to "try it" for yourselves. Let me know if I can help!!
Prayer ~ God of the Universe, thank You for sending Your Son to us - to love us, to teach us and, first and foremost, to save us from the consequences of our sins. We get excited every year by the approach of the season of celebration of Your Gift, and we end up wanting "what we want" when we want it - mostly "right now". Teach us to wait. Teach us to love the "waiting" and the time of "expectation" as much as we love the celebration of the arrival of our Savior!! Free us from the mindset of "instant gratification" which almost NEVER satisfies, and which often leaves us with vague feelings of emptiness and longing for "something different". Teach us the joy of preparation - - - not the preparation of shopping and cooking and getting and giving and wrapping and partying, but the preparation of our hearts to receive so great a Gift. Help us to really understand that our relationship with You through Your Son IS the missing piece that completes our puzzle. We pray in the name of the Blessed Babe of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior - Amen.
Activity ~ Sit down quietly and think of ways to "begin" your Christmas celebrations today rather than ways to "end" them. Don't throw your tree out just yet or yank it down and put it away . . . the party is just beginning!!!
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