Yes, it’s My Second Post Today!
- Yes, the Word was full of grace and truth, and from him we all received one blessing after another. (ERV)
- Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. (NIV)
- From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (NRSV)
The British celebration of “Boxing Day” (a.k.a. December 26) has a number of stories/explanations attached. But I’ll keep it simple and say that – essentially – the tradition stems from the practice of “boxing” up leftovers and sharing them with the less fortunate.
Today, of course, we don’t give leftovers so much. Jesus teaches that charitable contributions come from our first fruits – money, brand-new stuff, our very best, and food in its original packaging!
The tradition of leftovers, however, has been retained for the Boxing Day meal. It’s a feast built around cold meats from Christmas Day, and it’s always been a Maul family favorite.
If you read my previous post (or my book, In My Heart I Carry a Star) then you already know Rebekah and I only do a brunch for Christmas Day. So the leftovers produced for Boxing Day have to be conjured out of thin air – or cooked ahead of time to appear like leftovers! Sounds crazy, right? But not if you love the food combination I’m about to describe. Get out your notepads and pencils, foodie-friends, because I’m going to describe one of my favorite meals of the year.
Our spread included: one large cold turkey breast, cold spiral-cut ham, hot turkey, cooked all morning before lunch; along with the meats I served dressing, gravy, piping-hot baked potatoes (with butter and sour cream), lettuce and tomato, angel biscuits (made by Rebekah), the traditional British cold pork-pie, plus a variety of British specialty pickles (Heinz salad cream, Branston pickle, Piccalili, English pickled onions…).
For dessert there was mince pie, Christmas cake, custard tart, and hot yellow custard – served, of course, with a continual supply of hot tea.
This was a meal worth working all morning to put together!
Wine & Party Hats!
Before the dessert portion of the meal we pulled crackers (they explode to reveal silly paper hats, cheap toys, and a corny joke or riddle. It was great fun, then the children played and played while the grown-ups talked and consumed vast quantities of tea – still wearing our paper hats.
Rebekah and I are so consummately blessed, with a beautiful family, a comfortable home, and the most amazing community to live in and worship with.
Today’s pictures represent so much of the substance of those blessings. Many of the best images were taken by Naomi, who has developed a professional eye for a great photograph (look for her name on those shots).
What a wonderful succession of celebrations! Christmas Eve; Christmas Day; Boxing Day. All of this so we can pause, worship, and give thanks for the amazing initiative of love and invitation that is the birth of Jesus!
– In love, and because of love – DEREK
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Can I come next year?
[…] holiday our neighbors from across the world celebrate post-Christmas Day. Friends like Derek Maul describe the Boxing Day celebration through their sharing of the light of Christ through sharing what they […]