Thanksgiving: The Forgotten Holiday
Thanksgiving. It’s such a wonderful time of year, where you get to sit around the table with your friends and family and eat delicious food that you make just for that day. It’s a day that you say you’re thankful for various things. But–are we thankful for Thanksgiving?
If this holiday had never occurred, what would our country be like? What would have happened if the Native Americans and Pilgrims never had the big feast that we now know as Thanksgiving? What would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had never said it was a holiday?
Imagine for a moment that Halloween is gone. Some people might rejoice, for they can sit back and no kids are coming up to their door, but we’re not talking about those people. There wouldn’t be any children trick-or-treating, or parents standing at the door and handing out candy. Imagine what all the kids of America would do if Halloween never existed. (Dentists would probably be out of a job.)
Do we want to do that to Thanksgiving? When Christmas comes along, people adorn their houses with lights and put posable reindeer on their lawns. And on Halloween, people hang spiderwebs over their doors and carve pumpkins with happy or gruesome faces. Do we do anything for Thanksgiving? No! We just let it pass on and say, “Wow, that was great, where’s Christmas?”
And even now, with Thanksgiving not far off, (unless it’s already occurred when you read this) there are little trinkets for Christmas in stores across America. But anything for Thanksgiving? Nothing, zip, nada, zilch. Do we really just want to leave this holiday behind? It’s possible that Thanksgiving is so overlooked is because on all the other holidays, you get gifts! Well, with the exception of President’s Birthdays, Arbor and Labor Day, you get gifts. Candy, chocolate coins, roses, a brand new baseball bat…..
So, don’t forget Thanksgiving. Because if you think about it, family is one of the most important gifts of all. Christmas and Halloween involve families, because parents take their little youngsters trick-or-treating and buy them gifts on Christmas. But the 4th Thursday is a time for everyone to come together. So on Thanksgiving, be thankful for the people sitting around you. Be thankful for the things you have. But above all, be thankful for Thanksgiving.
