# Poor box

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{{Short description|Box used to collect coins for charitable purposes}}
[[Image:Opferstock Ladenburg St Gallus-Kirche.JPG|thumb|250px|Mite box in the St.-Gallus-Kirche in [Ladenburg](/source/Ladenburg), Germany]]

A '''poor box''', '''alms box''',  '''offertory box''', or '''mite box''' is a box that is used to collect coins for charitable purposes. They can be found in most [Christian](/source/Christian) churches built before the 19th century and were the main source of funds for [poor relief](/source/poor_relief).

Contemporary mite boxes are usually made of cardboard and given out to church congregations during the [Lenten](/source/Lenten) season.  The mite boxes are collected by the church, and the donations are given to the poor. Mite boxes are popular with children because they can fill them with small change, teaching them the principle of [giving alms to the poor](/source/Almsgiving). The Mite box promotes the spirit of contributing based on the intent to help others, and not on the monetary amount.

== History ==
The origin of the ''mite box'' is very old. In 2 [Kings](/source/Books_of_Kings) 12:9, the priest [Jehoiada](/source/Jehoiada) bored a hole in the lid of a [chest](/source/Chest_(furniture)) and placed it near the first [altar](/source/altar).<ref name="Carrera1828">{{cite book|author=Vicenç Joaquín Bastús i Carrera|title=Diccionario histórico enciclopédico|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3C4yKPt6Il0C&dq=diccionario&pg=PA457|accessdate=6 April 2013|year=1828|publisher=Imp. Roca|pages=457–}}</ref> However, this was to fund maintenance rather than alms.

[Pope Innocent III](/source/Pope_Innocent_III), at the end of the twelfth century, allowed some mite boxes to be placed in churches so that the faithful people could at any time dispose their alms.<ref name="Carrera1828"/>

Many [Catholic parish churches in Ireland](/source/Roman_Catholicism_in_Ireland) have two collection boxes, one "for the church" and the other "for the poor". The Irish lower courts also have a ''{{visible anchor|court poor box}}''<!--[Court poor box](/source/Court_poor_box) redirects here-->, where a judge can direct a defendant to make a donation to a charity in lieu of a conviction.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/criminal-law/criminal-trial/court-poor-box/ |title=Court Poor Box |date=17 January 2022 |website=Citizens Information |publisher=Citizens Information Board |access-date=9 July 2023 }}</ref>

==Mite==
[[Image:widowsmite.jpg|thumb|250px|A bronze [Widow's Mite](/source/Lesson_of_the_widow's_mite) or [Lepton](/source/Greek_lepton), minted by Alexander Jannaeus, King of [Judaea](/source/Judea), 103–76 B.C. obverse: anchor upside-down in circle, reverse: star of eight rays.]]
The term ''mite,'' according to the ''Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition'', is defined as any of the following:

# a very small contribution or amount of money, such as a widow's mite.
# a very small object, creature, or [particle](/source/particle). 
# a coin of very small value, especially an obsolete [British](/source/British_Empire) coin worth half a [farthing](/source/Farthing_(British_coin)).<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of 'mite' |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/mite |access-date=9 August 2025}}</ref>

The etymology of the word mite comes through [Middle English](/source/Middle_English) and [Middle Dutch](/source/Middle_Dutch) from the [Middle Low German](/source/Middle_Low_German) ''mīte,'' a small [Flemish](/source/Flanders) coin or tiny animal. In [biblical](/source/biblical) times, a mite or [lepton](/source/Greek_lepton) was a small coin of almost no worth.

== See also ==
*[Coinage of Alexander Jannaeus, King of Judea](/source/Alexander_Jannaeus)
*[Lesson of the widow's mite](/source/Lesson_of_the_widow's_mite)
*[Lutheran Women's Missionary League](/source/Lutheran_Women's_Missionary_League)
*[Tzedakah box](/source/Tzedakah_box)

== References  ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Alms in Christianity
Category:Containers

[de:Gotteskasten](/source/de%3AGotteskasten)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Poor box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_box) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_box?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.