Happy Thanksgiving :o)

Thanksgiving is one of the few truly secular, nondenominational holidays on the US calendar (the Fourth of July is another). We celebrate with a long weekend, a big meal with family and friends (on the menu: foods that reflect the tastes and colors of the autumn harvest, such as roast turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and candied yams), and football. It kicks off the holiday season and is the biggest shopping weekend of the year. We're taught that Thanksgiving came about when pilgrims gave thanks to God for a bountiful harvest. We vaguely mumble thanks for the food on our table, the roof over our head and the loved ones around us.

Thanksgiving is a celebration of successful production. The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production.   This country was mostly uninhabited and wild when our forefathers began to develop the land and build spectacular cities, shaping what is now the wealthiest nation in the world. It's the American spirit to overcome challenges, create great achievements, and enjoy prosperity. We uniquely recognize that production leads to wealth and that we must dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

But surely there is something more to celebrate, something more sacred about this holiday. What should we really be celebrating on Thanksgiving?

I think that the reason that this Holiday has become so ingrained is that there is special meaning, a meaning that is best understood by family, and that is relishing the fact that you care and are cared for. Being with your family while great food is being served is something that is memorable and full of encouragement. Sitting at the dinner table with relatives you haven't seen recently, how good does that make you feel? Thanksgiving is a time for thanking those you love and being close to them.  It is a holiday that simply makes us happy and filled with glee knowing we are loved.
One thing that makes me appreciate this holiday is that everyone is included, if you have no family, if you are homeless, you are given the chance to celebrate it at a center especially made for troubled times. It shows that people care and people truly believe in this never ending special holiday.  For a few years, when I did not have anyone to share this holiday with, I was at the homeless shelter, helping serve up some warm thoughts and some good food.

Now, before our meal, we offer our thoughts and prayers to those that cannot be with us on this day.  For me, while I contemplate this, I focus on the reason I am grateful that the person is in my life, not the reason that they are not present.

May you and yours have a wonderful day today, full of love and appreciation.