The Salvation Army's kettles have been used for more than a century to collect donations that give hope to the underprivileged throughout the Christmas season.

The kettles were started by Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee in December 1891. He wanted to give a free Christmas dinner to San Francisco's poor but didn't have the money to pay for the food.

Remembering his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England, McFee recalled seeing a large pot, called "Simpson's Pot," into which charitable donations were thrown by passers-by. He got permission to put a similar pot (a crab-cooking pot) at a popular ferry landing in San Francisco and it was a great success. His efforts paid off and those attending the Christmas dinner were well fed.

The pot was quickly called a Christmas kettle and the idea spread through The Salvation Army. By 1897 in America, monies placed in the kettles were feeding 150,000 Christmas dinners to those who otherwise would not have had one.

According to Salvation Army records, the first kettle usage recorded in Canada was in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1906.