History of the Christmas box
For centuries, during times of war leaders have sent their troops gifts to boost morale and uplift their spirits on Christmas Day.
“CHRISTMAS is full of history,” said, Durban North resident, Sandy Day, recently as she unveiled several antique Christmas boxes.
Day and her husband, Buddy, have been an antique collectors for more than 11 years. They collected these priceless boxes at various antique fairs. For centuries, during times of war leaders have sent their troops gifts to boost morale and uplift their spirits on Christmas Day.
In most instances the boxes contained luxuries and comforts from home.
One of these boxes that the Days collected was gently lifted from the table to illustrate the beautiful and intricate silhouette of Princess Mary, daughter of King Henry V and Queen Mary carved into the brass box.
In 1914 the 17-year-old princess decided to send every person wearing the Kings uniform and serving overseas a gift on Christmas Day. The box contained either an ounce of tobacco with a pipe, a lighter and twenty cigarettes or (for non-smokers and boys) a bullet pencil and a packet of sweets.
Indian troops received sweets and spices, and nurses were treated to chocolate. The war would only end four years later.
Queen Victoria sent a similar gift to her British soldiers fighting in South Africa during the Boer War in 1899. The queen had begun to worry about her troops morale, as they had experienced some of the worst defeats at the hands of the Boer soldiers.
Since chocolate was a luxury item for most people in those days she decided to send some as a gift to her 120 000 fighting troops. “These boxes were highly valued by the troops. One of the soldiers, a private, C Jackson, sent his to his family back home along with a letter. He explained that some of the boxes had been sold for up to 10 pounds, and that he was even scared someone would steal his. He never got to enjoy his gift. Since he died a few weeks after he sent the letter, on Bloody Sunday at Paardeberg,” said Day.
The tradition is still upheld today, as British men and women were sent gift sets on Christmas Day in 2012, while serving abroad.
