The Saturday briefing

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER by CAROLINE FORD

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Is there anything you’re yearning to know? Send your questions, on any subject, to the contacts given below, and we will do our best to answer them...

I have been watching some American Christmas films and noticed many street scenes in which people dressed as Santa are collecting money in buckets and ringing a bell. Can you tell me where all the money goes?

Peter Simpson, Lichfield, Staffs

A major US charity drive during Christmas, the “Santa street collection” is the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign and it has historical links to Liverpool.

Volunteers dressed in Santa suits stand outside shops and businesses from early November, collecting money in red “kettle” pots, often suspended from a tripod. They play or sing Christmas carols and bells are traditionally rung as a “call to attention” for giving.

The money raised helps support communities with meals, housing, clothing and emergency assistance.

The Red Kettle campaign was started by Salvation Army officer and former sailor Joseph McFee in 1891 in San Francisco. McFee was inspired to replicate an idea he had seen in Liverpool — the “Simpson’s Pot” — which took donations from passengers arriving at the docks.

The “Simpson’s Pot” was a large bowl that William Simpson — who ran a refreshments stall - used to collect coins for worthy causes.