Boxing Day The American Way

The Dark Green portion is perfect for a letter to the editor. The black version is added to the request letter if you are sending it to church groups, industries, etc.

12/26 St Stephen’s/Boxing Day - The term “Boxing Day” came from the opening of church poor boxes that day. This arose from dissatisfaction of giving alms gathered at the Church to the poor. St. Stephen died for his attempts to keep these funds for the poor.

We can adopt this UK holiday and give it our own American word – Lagniappe, meaning “An extra/ unexpected gift/benefit.” It is now a well-known Gulf Coast colloquialism that started as a Spanish word for “gift”. Let’s make 12/26 Lagniappe Day from those of us not needing our extra items to those who have lost everything.

With disasters a natural part of history, there will always be a need for giving a hand up to our neighbors. Many of these are/were in the middle class, never expecting to be thrust into poverty with little hope of escaping, save our collective generosity.

Sort through the items you have received in the last year. Give them to those less fortunate. By giving just one thing to a person or family in need, you will give the far greater gift of hope.

You can do so by looking at the families on the http://www.realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/ site, or literally any of the organizations I have listed on the side bar of this site, OR go to http://www.freecycle.org/ and post your extras there for help within your community. It's easy, needed, and a huge blessing to both the person you are helping AND you.