Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Second Day of Christmas: Helping Those in Need

The weeks leading up to Christmas were a time of waiting and anticipation. Now we will celebrate the birth of Christ for twelve days, until the feast of the Epiphany. The Christmas holidays have just begun. Today we are celebrating the second day of Christmas, the feast of St. Stephen, by lounging in our jammies, snacking on cookies and using our communication devices to connect with family from afar.


Today is also Boxing Day. When I was young I thought it was called Boxing Day because people were boxing up their Christmas decorations. Then I learned about the Boxing Day blow-out sales and great deals. Traditionally, Boxing Day was day for giving to the needy. So instead of going out and spending money on things that we don't need we are going to stay in our jammies and give to people in need through various charitable organizations. 


This year we chose to donate to two organizations CNEWA and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Through CNEWA we are sponsoring a child and through CRS we are helping make childbirth safer for women in Ginea-Bissau. Helping those in need on the second day of Christmas is a wonderful way to move away from a day that has become so filled with consumerism. Would you consider helping those in need today?

1 comment:

  1. Hi Josee,
    I read of family who chooses to forgo giving presents within their little family (still giving to extended family). Instead they give gifts "to Jesus" everyday of Advent, choosing charitable donation gifts that meet needs of people throughout the world.

    I feel that helping our children learn to give gifts to each other is also important, but we chose to keep the $ value down to less than $10-20 each gift, as well as giving several gifts to "Jesus". The kids really enjoyed selecting gifts for Jesus from the catalogues such as Compassion or Gospel for Asia.

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear your friendly thoughts.