OLD-TIME CHARITIES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 72, 17 December 1937, Page 24 (Supplement)

OLD-TIME CHARITIES

Quaint English Customs Though people are naturally averso to having charity "thrown at their heads.," the poorer folk of Paddington, in London, have their Christmas bread and cheese flung down at them from. the eminence of the church steeple. "On Sunday, after -Divine service, Bays the Grub Street ournal, of Do* cember 21, 1736, "was performed tha annual ceremony of throwing bread and cheese out -of Paddington Church: steeple among the spectators, and giving them ale. The custom was estab* lished by two women, who .purchased five acres of land to the abovo use itt commemoration of the particular charity, whereby they had been relieve^ when in extreme necessity.'' As, whimsical ia icharity was that founded by one Henry Greene, an old character of the early eighteenth century, who left a sum of money, the interest of which was io be spent . annually in providing "four poor women with four green waistcoats, to be laced with green galieon lace, and to be delivered to the women on or before De* cember 20, so that they may be women Christmas Day," "William Robinson, one-time SlierifE of Hull, contrived to have his.memory, kept green at a much "smaller cost than many men would pay -for- even; a limited immortality. By his will he directed that every Christmas Day tweive loavea of bread should he given to as many poor widows; but in order to qualify for the loaves, the widows must present themselves by the testator's graveside and receive their Christmas dole$ over the bones of their benefactor. AYhile we all nse the phrase Christ* mas box a hundred times at this sea* son of the year, few are aware of it$ origin. It was, in the first place, a real box, or rather, a jar of earthenware in. which those who received the tipi stored them for the Cliristmas holiday* In a dictionary or the year 1585 w® find Christmas box defined as "a money box made of potter's clay wherein boyes put their mony to keepe, such as they hang in shoppes on towards Christmas." The famous Lisliop Hall mentions these boxes in one of his sermons, saying that if was "a shame for a rich Christian to be like a Christmas box that receives all, but nothing could be| got out till it bo broken in pieces." 5