March 1st is World Cat Day ! Cats live side by side with people for thousands of years, but only in 2005 it was decided to introduce the International Holiday, celebrating the merits of these noble animals to humanity.
Cat's day is needed in order to realize the role of cats in people's lives. At the dawn of human civilization, they were worshiped as deities, later attributed to evil influence and friendship with dark forces. In some cultures, they are endowed with nine lives, mythical and healing abilities, as well as the ability to predict the weather.
Feline "services" have been required by people since time immemorial. Not without reason is it sung in the Russian lullaby: "Go, Kotya, spend the night, rock my baby." Apparently, for the “jug of milk” and for the “piece of cake”, this conscientious Kotya does her “sleepy” work well, they have been calling and singing about him for several centuries.
On a festive World Cat Day, it would be nice to remember how these wonderful animal companions help us humans.
Although the holiday is general, in every country it is celebrated in its own way. In the United Kingdom, for example, cats are officially in the service of Her Majesty. Mustachioed employees are called upon to hunt mice in Buckingham Palace, they wear a special uniform and live in small cozy houses. March 1, on World Day of the Cats, furry courtiers are treated to cat treats.
In Austria, cats are in the service of the state. They protect the country's grain stores from small rodents. On World Cat Day, they will, as always, be given milk, broth and meat; they are provided with this delicious food for life.
Many museums in the world have a feline "security service." The British Museum even pays the mustachioed “agents” a salary. Such a service has existed in the Hermitage since the 18th century. At the request of Empress Elizabeth, the largest cats, convenient for catching mice, were sent to Kazan from the yard, because rats inundated St. Petersburg. Since then, at the Winter Palace, several dozen cats have been constantly living and now carry on museum services.
World Cat Day for the Russian museum Vasek and Barsikov, as well as for the British Max and Oscars - a simple working day. But if you think about it, they do not just catch rats and mice, they protect no more no less than the unique cultural heritage of all mankind!
The Russian “Hermicians,” as the Hermitage mustache-striped museum employees are called, are not paid salaries, but they are treated as conscientiously as possible. Veterinarians serve them out of turn, and after retirement they are sure to look for suitable “good hands” for them and give them to comfortable home conditions. Moreover, candidates for future cat owners are carefully checked.
At the Hermitage Museum there is a "Club of Cat Lovers", and in March, members of the club celebrate Hermica Day. And St. Petersburg artists Mitki created a monument to a cat near their workshop , calling it Tisha Matrosskaya and dressing, naturally, in a vest.
Speaking about the cat, it should be noted that today's cat world is large and diverse. There are countless different noble breeds, their representatives are worth a lot of money. Purebred handsome men, winning prestigious exhibitions, winning medals, it is easy to be proud and loving.
But, at the same time, there are outbred Vaski and Murka, who are also cats, although they look completely different. The hosts save them by picking up on the streets for free, they are proud and love no less than thoroughbreds and just like that!
It is necessary to mention one more holiday concerning our “smaller brothers”. October 4, the birthday of St. Francis, the patron saint of "all the creatures of the earth", since 1931, World Animal Day has been celebrated . The holiday was established so that events are held every year that increase people's awareness of the planet of one simple truth: animals, and the environment as a whole, need protection.