The Christmas Box

Yesterday I wrote about pantomimes traditionally starting on Boxing Day but the origin of the name "Boxing" comes from an old church custom of opening the Alms box to share amongst the poor in the Parish. Later the Victorians treated their tradesmen to tips at Christmas and these became known as their Christmas Box. The practice of giving and receiving presents at Christmas is still an important part of the season and in the commercialism of Christmas it is sometimes forgotten the gift mankind was given 200 years ago with the birth of Jesus. Perhaps these shop window displays that both feature boxes of varying shapes and sizes will act as a reminder.