26th December is called Boxing Day in the UK, it originates from the 1800s, when the wealthy gave their servants and trades people a ‘Christmas box’ and allowed them time with their families.
Fast forward to 2015 and for many it is day of sheer uninhibited consumerism.
In 2015 we will spend approximately £3.74 Billion in one day on stuff we do not need, non-essential things to add to the pile of non-essential things we unwrapped only the day before.
If you took that money and spent it on something meaningful, like the homeless, the people flooded out in Cumbria, or extra nurses and the list can continue.
£3.74 bn = 160,000 nurses based on their current £22,875 annual salary. It could easily feed and house every single one of the approximate 112,000 homeless people and it would certainly ensure everyone in Cumbria was taken care of.
What would Boxing Day mean then? A day of kindness and meaning, that would change other people’s lives, perhaps for a lifetime.
Philip Dodson 