Box social
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Box social is a term with varying definitions in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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[edit] Canadian usage
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A wine tasting party except instead of tasting, usually the members just drink the wine.[citation needed]
However, this definition is for people who actually attend such gatherings. For the rest of us, a box social (pyxis socialus, as it was known in the Roman Empire era) is a gathering of at maximum 15 people. These people should have social connections to each other in the form of, at minimum, a friendship, for this term to apply.
During Roman times members of the Roman Senate would hold these meetings with their closest allies to discuss a range of topics, from politics to the economy, in addition to cutting deals to gain influence in the Senate. These were called "box socials" because of the attendees' paradoxical openness at an event that was viewed to be private. During his rise to prominence before the First Triumvirate, Julius Caesar would regularly hold these meetings with lower level members of the Senate to ensure that his election to the consul would not be opposed by a majority of the senate.[citation needed]
[edit] American usage
A box social in the United States is a form of fundraiser, wherein donated lunch boxes are auctioned off for a cause (urban city school charity, projects, etc). Usually a woman creates a lunch, which is then auctioned off. Varying somewhat, the custom was for the person who had prepared or donated the box lunch to go on a date with the person who won the lunch with the highest bid, or at the event sit with that person and share the lunch.
In the U.S. state of Vermont the tradition is that women decorate a cardboard box, fill it with a lunch or dinner for two, and the men bid on the boxes anticipating a meal with the woman who brought the box. The event frequently takes place in a town hall, school gymnasium, or church hall. The bidding involves competition, and a fair bit of joking and teasing. The practice had fallen out of favor with young people in the 1970s–1990s, but has seen some resurgence in recent years. The rules today have become less rigid. Men now provide boxes as well, but the goal remains the same: raising money for a school, church, or civic project.
[edit] British usage
In Victorian Britain, middle class young people had few acceptable ways to socialize and meet new people. A solution emerged of "box socials" held at various people's houses, organized by the parents, where youths could mix in a risk-free environment. Within the university environment, a box social can be an annual social gathering for a sports club.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- Miller, Peter. Vermont People. Self-published: 1991. ISBN 0-9628064-0-4.
- Strickland, Ron. Vermonters: Oral Histories from Down Country to the Northeast Kingdom. New England Press: 1986. ISBN 978-0874518672
- Van Susteren, Dirk, A Vermont Century: Photography and Essays from the Green Mountain State. Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus: 1999. ISBN 0-932754-99-6.
