The Hudson's Bay Box and Three Whys of Christmas
From the June 1941 issue of the Beaver, p.23.
The Hudson's Bay Box
Click on the image to read Helen Dickson's recollection of what the annual HBC box meant to those employees living in remote areas — and when her allegiance switched from Santa to the Hudson's Bay Company.
The following three texts are from the December 1922 issue of the Beaver, p.122.
Why We Have Christmas Plum Pudding
Plum puddings and mince pies have been made in their present from only during the last two or three hundred years. It was in ancient times the practice for people to give one another at Christmas-time little cakes roughly shaped in the human form, and these represented the infant Jesus and His Mother. These became more elaborate as time went on, and developed into a great Christmas pie made up of all kinds of things – chicken, eggs, spices, raisins, currants, sugar, candied peel, and so on. The pies were made in the supposed shape of the manger in which Jesus was laid. The various ingredients, coming, as many did, from the East, were said to represent the gifts of the wise men to Jesus. later the pies were made in the more convenient round shapes and developed into our plum puddings and mince pies. — F.S.G.
Why We Put Holly in Our Homes At Christmas
The custom of decorating the inside of our homes at Christmas with holly, mistletoe and other evergreens is very ancient, and can be traced back to the old heathen festivals that took place at the same time of the year as we celebrate Christmas.
At these festivals the temples used to be decorated with evergreens, and as one of the Scripture lessons usually read on Christmas eve contained the passage from Isaiah (chapter 60 verse 13) “The Glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary,” the practice of decorating the churches grew up. This, however, was much opposed at first, owing to the pagan custom, but gradually it got a firm hold and at last even dwelling houses were decorated. — F.S.G.
Why Christmas Presents Are Called Boxes
We always call a present given at Christmas a “Christmas box” whether it is really a box or not. In olden times alms-boxes were placed in the churches on Christmas Day to receive gifts of money for the poor, and these gifts were distributed on the following day, which thus came to be called “Boxingday.”
Later the watchmen, apprentices and others used to go around collecting for their own benefit, and to receive the money gifts they had little earthenware boxes. Ever since those times Christmas presents have been known as Christmas boxes. — F.S.G.