The Christmas pot is a form of street collection,
A silent reminder of our duty as a fellow human being. That is how they describe the world famous Christmas pot of the Salvation Army. The tripod with the large black pot is indispensable in the streets around Christmas. Without a Christmas pot in a busy shopping street, the real Christmas atmosphere is missing for many. People can donate money in the pot mentioned.
The salvation soldier / volunteer on guard at the pot no longer has to shout: "think of the Christmas pot!" to donate. It is for a reason that the Christmas pot is a silent reminder of our duty as fellow human beings.
The salvation soldiers (members of the Salvation Army) and many volunteers are 'on guard' every year during the Christmas period the Christmas pot.
It started in 1891 in the American city of San Francisco. The United States suffered badly from a severe economic crisis. Also in San Francisco, the large port city on the west coast, where the depression was clearly felt. Shipping was virtually suspended and thousands of sailors and dock workers were unemployed.
It was the job of Captain Joseph McFee to do something for these people. McFee, commander of a seagoing ship before he became salvation officer at the Salvation Army, received a small sum from his commanding officer to open a soup kitchen and a simple lodging. He had to make sure everything went smoothly. The result was that McFee lay awake at night, worried, thoughtful, and praying about how he could get the finances to feed the poor during Christmas. His thoughts went back to his sailor time in Liverpool. He remembered that at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large steel kettle called "Simpson's Pot" where people could throw money in to help the poor.
On a sad rainy day before Christmas, McFee passed a shop of a ship merchant. In the shop window stood a tripod on which was hanging a large black pot. McFee bought the tripod with accompanying pot. With this idea in mind, McFee asked permission from the local authorities in San Francisco City to place the pot and tripod in the driveway of the ferries to Oakland and Almeda, the busiest point of the city. At the top of the tripod hung a sign with the text: keep the pot boiling (keep the pot boiling). Meanwhile, McFee called on the passers-by. "Help hungry sailors!" Soon the first coins fell into the pot. The Christmas pot of the Salvation Army was a fact.
Since then, the Christmas pots have become a symbol worldwide. In many countries, the Christmas season really starts when the Christmas pots have appeared in the streets. The idea of the pot originated in a time of depression. Although poverty no longer dominates in many countries, there are still people who live in need. The long-term sick, the handicapped, elderly people, lonely men and women on the verge of subsistence, there is little room for celebration in their lives. The Christmas pots are a reminder of the need in the world.
