Boxing Day Re-imagined

Boxing Day.
December 26th.
Celebrated in the UK. For
most people it means a day to hang
out with family, eat leftovers and enjoy gifts
given and received. But historically, it was also a day
​to give "Christmas Boxes" to the servants, who would go home
and celebrate Christmas with ​their own families after
​having cared for you on the 25th.

Or, perhaps the
term 'Boxing Day' comes
from the nautical tradition whereby
great sailing ships carried a sealed box of money
for good luck which, upon return, would be given to a priest
who would distribute the money to those in
​need on the day after Christmas.

Here in New England,
we get back to work - - there is
no "Bank Holiday" for us. But over the past
​decade, I have created my own "Boxing Day" tradition.

Photographs that are labels on Christmas Day, or beautiful holiday cards
become decorations on a box the next. And all that wrapping
paper gets a longer life, glued to a sneaker
box or packing box and used
​year after year.

It started with
a desire to save paper and
reduce holiday waste. But over time,
​it became something more - - A kind of compulsion
to fix what I had using materials at hand -
not just cards and paper,
​but fabric as well. 

One year, I redid
our recycling container.
The next, I created boxes to use
for grocery shopping. They were so admired
at our food co-op, I made some as gifts
for the clerks. Apparently one of
the boxes ​is now the bed
​for a very happy cat.

What makes me happiest,
is that my son and daughter love to
find their custom gift boxes under the tree.
No need for labels. And certainly no
need for new wrapping paper.
It's become a tradition - -

Our very
own Boxing Day.
To me, that's what makes our
current time so inspiring. There are opportunities
for the creative re-making of the world as we know it.
As I discovered with a bunch of cards, paper
and fabric, beauty is everywhere.
What might you create or
discover this last
week of
2018?

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Sources:
The Spruce: What is Boxing Day?