Christmas weekend an opportunity to share aloha

Brighten your entryway and home with holiday flowers and greenery. Poinsettias and casuarina branches are used here. The poinsettias may later be planted in the garden for next year color. (Voltaire Moise/Special to West Hawaii Today)

This is the perfect weekend with Friday being Christmas Eve, Saturday Christmas and Sunday Boxing Day. Many Americans are not familiar with the history of the latter, but it is perhaps second only in importance to celebrating the birth of Jesus. The tradition of Boxing Day may be traced back to the early Christian era when the rich used to box up gifts to the poor. Today it is much more popular in the UK and Commonwealth Nations and is concurrent with the Christian holiday, Saint Stephan’s Day or Day of Goodwill.