The year William Booth 'ruined' Christmas
The year William Booth 'ruined' Christmas
William and Catherine Booth and five of their eventual six children they raised in London while establishing The Salvation Army.
For many, the Salvos can save Christmas. Each year, tens of thousands of Australians in need find food on the table and presents under the tree on 25 December because of the work of The Salvation Army.
At Christmas time, The Salvation Army distributes over 64,000 hampers and vouchers and gives out around 500,000 gifts and toys to families in need. It provides over 130,000 meals across the country to those doing it tough and more than 66,000 beds for over 10,000 families in need of accommodation.
The Salvation Army’s work ensures a Christmas for many, a tradition that reaches back over 150 years when one father decided to ‘ruin’ his own Christmas.
In 1868, the founders of The Salvation Army, William and Catherine Booth, had been working amongst the poor in London’s East End and were raising their children in Hammersmith. The Booth home did not have a great deal of money, but they celebrated 25 December with food, songs and games.
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William and Catherine Booth ministering on the streets of East London.
As the snow fell, the children woke early for Christmas morning, but William was already walking eight miles to Whitechapel, where he conducted their church service. William had worked amongst the East End’s poor for three years, but the walk home reminded him of the addiction and poverty there. It was a sad sight for a Christmas morning, especially to see some children drunk and searching the garbage for food.
As William arrived home, his heart broke for those who found no joy on 25 December. Filled with compassion, William gathered his children and boldly declared to them, “I’ll never spend another Christmas like this again. The poor have nothing but the public house! (the pub).”
From that point on, a new Christmas tradition was born. Instead of the usual food and games, the Booths spent the day working to serve 300 Christmas dinners to the hungry of the East End. Christmas would never be the same again for the Booth family, as they came to spend each 25 December working so others could enjoy the day. While it may have felt like William Booth had ruined Christmas (certainly, his children may have thought so), this story reminds us what the day is really about.
This Christmas, many in our own context will find no joy on 25 December. Recent research from The Salvation Army shows that four out of five people (80%) accessing emergency relief had difficulty meeting basic living expenses such as housing, utilities, food and healthcare. Almost half of respondents went without meals, more than half could not afford medical or dental treatments when needed, and over a third could not afford medicines prescribed to them by doctors. Much has changed since 1868, but many things remain the same for those in need.
We don’t all live in proximity to poverty or work in welfare contexts, and there’s nothing wrong with family and fun on such an important day. There remains a lesson in this story, however. In denying just a little for ourselves, we can share a lot with others, particularly those in need. This year may we all find some small way to ruin our Christmas and perhaps save Christmas for those who need it most.
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