Wednesday 26 December 2012

boxing day

Today is Boxing Day...  a day to celebrate the wonderful invention that is the box.  Okay, I know...  you might have thought it was about some other stuff.  Live and learn, my friends.  Live and learn.

I've been hearing 'bout Boxing Day sales for weeks now.  Biggest sales of the year and whatnot.  Funny thing is, all the stores here in Nova Scotia are closed today.  They must have held those Boxing Day sales on some other day, huh?  That's kind of weird, I think, but you know...  peeps are known for their propensity to do weirdness.  It's in their nature, I think.

My two marmalade brothers had a bit of a Boxing Day celebration themselves, this morning.  They celebrated with a little kitty boxing.  They both wanted to play with one of our new toys at the same time.  Peep #1 was pretty quick to break that up.  What a spoils sport.  I had a bet placed on that fight.  Yup...  I bet my sister Mason two Treat Temptations that it would be the peep #2 who would break up the fight.  MOUSES!

History tells us that Boxing Day was a day when servants were given gifts - probably packaged in boxes - from their superiors.  Hmmm...  was I supposed to give my peeps gifts?  We cats already gave them stuff yesterday for Christmas.  Just how many gifts do the staff expect?  Also, traditionally, household staff were given Boxing Day off to be with their own families since they had worked on Christmas Day.  Well...  my household staff are my peeps and they are my family so I guess they don't need today off.  Good thing, too, 'cause we cats have really never mastered the art of opening tins.  Bagged food we can do but not the tins.  I should make learnin' how to open tins my New Year's resolution or something.

But the real wonder of Boxing Day is, of course, the box itself.  It's the most wonderful invention.  Right up there with sliced bread and the wheel and whatnot.  Actually, the box is a better invention than sliced bread 'cause we cats don't eat the stuff.  As bread has no immediate relevance to us, it can't possibly be as important as the box.  The relative importance of the wheel is still under consideration.

Boxes come in all shapes and sizes.  It's true.  While most people think they're all squares and rectangles, I can tell you they're not.  I have personally experienced boxes that are circular and triangular and even weirder ones with five and six sides.  I'm not into these newfangled shaped boxes myself.  I'll leave that for the younger kitties out there who are willing to experiment with new things although I might be willing to give a circular one a go.  Peeps say these are for holdin' hats but I think that maybe...  just maybe...  they might really be for nappin' cats.

You can find big boxes, little boxes and in-between sized boxes.  A good size is one that fits a kitty snugly.  In fact, the perfect sized box is a snuggery.  Too big and you can't feel the walls of the box wrapped around you so there's really not much point to bein' in the box in the first place.  Too little and...  well...  you just can't fit.  Nothin' worse than a bit of you hangin' out of your box.

Boxes serve all sorts of purposes.  Boxes are great for playing in and when you get tired playin' in them, you can curl up in there and have a little nap.  It's dual purpose, you know?  Gotta love that.  You can hide in them, too.  Especially if the box has a top that opens and shuts.  Those are great boxes.  With a paw, you can flip open the lid and hop right in there before the lid comes down again.  There, you're well hidden for the purpose of napping in peace.  When the nap is over, you just push open the box with the top of your head and climb out.  Excellent!

A box fit for playing and napping is a gift in of itself but there is also a special kind of box called a gift box.  These are the boxes Santa brings on Christmas, usually filled with tins of Fancy Feast and whatnot.  The peeps appear to have access to gift boxes, too, as they gave us a really nice one this year filled with some pretty neat toys.  These gift boxes are usually too small for napping or playing in but there are usually wonderful things inside them so the size fault can be overlooked.  There are also boxes that just appear to come with the gift.  We got one toy from the peeps that came in a box.  It wasn't pretty like a gift box and so had to be wrapped with paper.   It's too small to get inside so it's not that kind of box, either.   Apparently, all it did was hold the toy.  But it's a good toy so the box is still worthwhile as a box, I should think.  In fact, that was the very same toy that Seville and Rushton were havin' the boxing match over, this morning.  Hmmm...  a box that promotes boxing.  Interesting...

Oh, and a discussion of boxes must include the importance of the litter box.  Yes, the litter box is what differentiates us cats from dogs...  indoor plumbing!  A remarkable invention, appreciated especially when it is cold or wet or cold and wet outdoors.

So there you have it my friends...  the real meaning of Boxing Day.  Do you think I should add these perhaps previously unknown facts to the Wikipedia?  Peeps out there might wanna know, you know.  You know...  know the real meaning of Boxing Day and whatnot.

41 comments:

  1. Boxes are fun. When my hoomin gets one, she takes out the packing paper and lets me sniff it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You mean Boxing Day wasn't about kitties playing in boxes!? But us kitties can't be wrong...so that would mean the humans have had it wrong all this while.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh we think that is a great interpretation of boxing day Nerissa. We love boxes too. Hope you have a great day today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We think we like that version of Boxing Day better. We like the other meaning too because our Beans go out with friends on Christmas Day and then they have their Christmas dinner on Boxing Day. Then they lie around moaning they have eaten too much so it means more snuggle time for us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We boxes come to our house it's almost a fight to see which kitty can get in it first. PrincessPuff has her own box in the corner so she can hide & sleep in peace from KingMoo, unless he decides it's time to torment her again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. dood...ewe noe....ewe SHULD post this ta wiki oh pedia.... we bet they pay ewe top dollar for this and honest lee.... we dinna even noe sum oh this stuff...grate ree search job !!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You forgot the most important thing that happens on Boxing Day Nerissa. The five day test starts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground! It is WORLD FAMOUS ... well in Australia it is ... kinda, sorta. About 80,000 peeps attend and millions more watch it on tv. This year the Aussies are playing Sri Lanka.
    I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are having a great Boxing Day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like it!!!! A box is the purrfect gift for any occasion!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jus what we LUV!!! 2 Holidayz back to back!! ^.,^
    Merry Chrismouse & Happy Boxing Day!

    ^.,^ X6 + 1 ;) ♥♥xoxoxo♥♥

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, the peeps have their Internets. Let them look it up. Boxing Day is for celebrating boxes, AS WE ALL KNOW! Happy Boxing Day! Purrs and kisses to you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Excellent box post! We believe we'll go find one right now. Have a happy Thursday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mowzers, we think Wikipedia is really missing out. You should totally enlighten them!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Boxing Day...a holiday just for us cats! You know our motto...we've never met a box we didn't like!

    ReplyDelete
  14. DEFINITELY you must edit the Wikipedia section on Boxing Day, Nerissa. It is all so slanted fromt he HUMAN perspective only.

    ReplyDelete
  15. We had lots of box fun today - and no boxing, surprisingly! But then, the day is not over yet.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ha, we love your idea of Boxing Day!

    Oink oink,
    Katie and Coccolino the mini pig

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy Boxing Day!!!! The puffect box makes any day special!

    The Florida Furkids

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow! Me likes how yous guys explained Boxing Day! Me celebrated yesterday by jumping into every single box Mommy and Daddy opened. Today me ignored them all!
    Kisses
    Nellie

    ReplyDelete
  19. A day to celebrate boxes, lol.... love it ;)

    ReplyDelete
  20. That's the best Boxing Day story I ever readed. Course, I haven't read very many, but I am sure that even if I had yours would still be the best. Purrsunally, I do not care for boxes, but I do understand they hold a strange and powerful attraction for most of my kind. Perhaps someday I will understand.

    We think this is probably WAAAAAY better than whatever happends to be on wikipedia. XOXOXO

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oddly enough, Sassy and I are kind of box indifferent. Eh, we can take them or leave them.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Happy Boxing Day pal. I'm so relieved you at least got a couple of boxes to celebrate with. Happy Boxing Day!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I do anything for a box, Nerissa :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I feel so much more cleverer now - thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Nerissa, you should definitely add this to wikipedia! You are without a doubt an expert in boxicology!
    Purrs

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wikipedia definitely needs to know about this! In a cat's world, Boxing Day is all about glorious boxes!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Nerissa,
    I what a great post explaining Boxing Day. But as you so aptly put it we all know Boxing day is a day just for cats cause we love boxes all shapes and sizes.
    Hugs Madi

    ReplyDelete
  28. We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that the coming New Year is blessed and joyous!

    ReplyDelete
  29. We're getting ready to move - and one of my Twitter minions offered to give us boxes. I thought that would be great, but Mum says they're for putting things in for the move. What's the fun in that?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Today the Human was talking to someone who said if they gotted a cat, they were going to teach him or her to use the Human litter box. We think that's just crazy talk, though he seemed to think he could do it. I dunno. I don't like the idea of all that water ::shudder::

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wiki would definitely benefit from your input here, Nerissa!! Thanks for the heads up :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. why absolutely Nissy, send that stuff about Boxing Dad to Wikipedia, I am sure they will want to publish it. That was a brilliant treatise (VBP) on Boxing Day. paw pats, Savannah

    ReplyDelete
  33. Nerissa I enjoyed your explanation of Boxing Day. I would love seeing your marmalade brothers. Xxoo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Katie! My two marmalade brothers are in the post. The cat in the box is Mason. She's not a marmalade. She's fawn. Least that's what the peep calls her. Ruston is the orange cat with the long hair (like you) and Seville is the orange cat with the short hair (like me). purrs

      Delete
  34. Do you think Boxing Day can be a holiday in the US? Sounds like fun to me. Would be great for my cats since they love boxes. I think we should petition to add that information to Wikipedia and make it a holiday in the US. =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  35. One must always remember the most important reason for having the most precious and useful of inventions, the 'cat trap' aka the box. Toss one on the ground and if there is a cat around ..... gotcha. Our house is almost carpeted in cat traps. Not a free space along the wall that doesn't have a cat trap. Best we've found is the Pringles potato chip display/packing boxes. The bright red ones are favored. Just the right height, the size is just perfect for most all sizes of kitty. Colors aren't so bad either. Blue, red, Red, and RED. Our clowder even prefer them for scratching as opposed to the door frames, window frames, the posts in the room divider in the fun room, but we discovered that a few years too late. Thas arrite though, it's home.

    Love the informative and casual chatter here. We are signed in and will be back. Hope to see you again soon, right after the break. We're not going anywhere, so we'll be around all the time. Retired yaknow, and working even harder .... 'honey do list' yaknow!

    I'm gone ....

    ReplyDelete
  36. Cats and boxes.... I don't get it. *rolls eyes*

    ReplyDelete
  37. I thought I was the only one, to refer to ginger cats as "marmalade" cats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope. And that's how my brother Seville got his name. 'Cause you make marmalade with Seville oranges and all. purrs

      Delete

I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.