CANADIAN
CELEBRATIONS
BOXING
DAY
(Canada
is one of several countries recognizing this day.)
When? December 26
Why?
To help the poor
How? This is a day families gather together and share their
love for one another, but it's also a time when they show care and friendship
toward the poor and needy of the neighborhood by presenting them with boxes of
gifts they have prepared.
Activities: Have
children decorate small boxes and then bring goodies for them from home (fresh
fruits, clothing, toys, etc). Distribute the boxes to the poor and needy
through a local church or social services center.
By the way: This would
be a great holiday to introduce during the Thanksgiving season (omitting the date
altogether) as children could make boxes for their cans of donated foods.
More Canadian celebrations are coming if/when I have time to do the research.
Please share your ideas too. E-mail me at stormie@preschoolbystormie.com
From Brenda Mintzler,
preschool teacher in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada:
Hi Stormie! "Boxing Day" is not currently celebrated in the same
way as it once was. It may have started out as a way to help the poor many,
many years ago, but now, more or less, Christmas is the time to help the needy.
Boxing Day by itself is used more as a day (after Christmas) for shopping.
Store prices drop quite significantly and shoppers get a very early start
(6 a.m. at times) in order to find the best deals.
Note
from Stormie: I still feel that this is an honorable celebration to introduce
to children as it teaches compassion (character ed). We can refer to
it as a Canadian celebration of long ago (history). Or, actually, we
can even introduce it in its present day form -- teaching the value of spending
money wisely, perhaps. 
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from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom
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