Commonwealth countries don’t finish celebrating on Dec. 25th. In places such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, Christmas links up with another holiday known as Boxing Day.

Held on Dec. 26th, the bonus day off work gives families an opportunity to share meals of leftovers between making mad dashes to shops, where they return unwanted gifts in exchange for clearance items they’d rather have. Some stores have found Boxing Day sales to be so popular and useful for clearing out unsold merchandise that they keep the slashed prices for several days, calling it Boxing Week.

But those aren’t the boxes the day was originally named after.

It was intended to be designated for giving a gift to the less fortunate – a box of something – whether food, durable goods or cash. Possibly rooted in the relationship between serf and lord, and definitely linked to the wealthy giving to the poor, it was nevertheless a moment that human beings were generous and appreciated others for their humble service.

To honor today, I’m going to celebrate by presenting some photos that give thanks to my cats. No, they aren’t pictured with their box of food, although rest assured they’ve been enjoying special snacks and catnip for several days in a row. I figure they deserve the chance to celebrate, too.

Here they are in all their glory enjoying some tender moments of pure love and companionship.

 

Remember the Kodak poster with the babies all in a row?

 

Even a headlock can be an act of love.

 

Group love.

 

Chow time.