Boxing Day and the following days

The first day after Christmas is called the Boxing Day. The day originated in England. It is a significant day that follows Christmas. On Boxing Day, the rich and haves of the society take time to present their employees who worked for them even during Christmas. These presents, which are Christmas leftovers, were made in boxes, giving a name to the day.

Back home, in our land, the Boxing Day is still Christmas. It is the second day of Christmas. But good that we did not have the Boxing Day. The good thing is that we do not get to wrap leftover food in boxes to present it to the poor and needy. It is not that we do not have leftovers. Eventhough secondhand clothes suit our taste, economy and fashion quest, the leftover foods are not seen as something to be presented. Is that because our foods are not wrappable? Or is that because leftovers are leftovers? Not presentable. The rich, the not so rich and everyone could feast together once again in celebration of Christmas on the Boxing Day, which is more a leftover day.

I was once into a discussion on where the leftover foods, which Jesus fed to the five thousand men, not counting women and children then, on the mount of Olive must have gone. It was a difficult attempt, as it was not recorded in the Bible. Did they go rotten or presented? It was not written that way either. All that we could say was, Peter must have taken them on his fishing trip. But what is important here is that the poor and haves- not of the society also get to be fed or celebrated on the same day that is supposed to have collective significance. If the trend becomes a popular one, it would be disheartening to see the poor and needy giving more importance to the Boxing Day than Christmas itself. That would be very un-Christian. Or very un-Christmas.

Friends from Tipaimukh Hills often told me about their extended Christmas celebrations that sometimes stretched till the fifth, sometimes tenth of January of the next year. There was no Boxing Day to brake their extended Christmas celebrations. Even the poor and needy contribute their chicken and pig for the unending celebrations. When the rich and haves in England were generously giving out their “leftovers” as presents, our folks in the hills and mountains of Tipaimukh gave whatever they own or possessed to celebrate the birth of the Son of Man. The longer it gets the louder the song was sung. The louder the song was sung, the wilder the dances turns to. That goes a long way to fulfil the long awaited season and reason.

The giving spirit is still so different. Jesus much concern was centred on this issue too. The Pharisee’s giving and the poor old woman’s giving was a big lesson in The Book. That has to say that it is not merely about giving. There is more to it than just giving, which goes beyond the man and human within us. Imagine receiving a Boxing Day present? That would raise too many questions, which is why I could not send you any. But the day follows for good and I say, “Blessed be the New Year to you.”