At this time of year everyone is normally ready for the winter holidays. Many get excited to decorate their houses in red and green, and set up Christmas trees, and decorations. But we often forget a holiday… Thanksgiving. The day people come together to celebrate everything they’re thankful for with loved ones. A day of remembrance and gratitude. And you can’t forget about the amazing food that’s prepared for this holiday.
When thinking about Thanksgiving, the first thing to come to mind might be all the activities on the morning of. Fall decorations hang around the house, while you cook dinner for family coming over later. Turkey has been over for what feels like forever. The sounds of the Thanksgiving Day parade play in the background, while you change into comfy clothes (perfect for filling your bellies). It’s not a day to forget about, it’s one to get excited for!
Beyond food and traditions, the historical roots of the holiday are important to remember too. Thanksgiving is a day of celebration of harvest, a day spent feasting on food. Its origin traces back to 1621 when the harvest feast was shared between the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrim settlers in Plymouth. This feast was to celebrate the autumn harvest. While it was the Pilgrims’ first difficult year in the new world, the Wampanoag people helped them adapt and survive by teaching them their ways of growing crops. Their feast was made all the more special with help provided and the thanks given to the Wampanoag people. This day became a national holiday because of the unity and celebration that came from it
Thanksgiving is also a day of reflection, a time to remind ourselves of blessings we may take for granted. Jon Hoglund, a member of the Cities Church states, “Thanksgiving impresses the feeling into us by giving it a time and date, a concrete moment in which our thankfulness comes out. The opposite of thanksgiving, I would suggest, is entitlement. When we give thanks, we acknowledge a gift. But when a gift goes un-thanked, we begin to assume that we deserve it, that it is our right, and that if anyone (including God) takes it away, they have wronged us.” The idea is not to take everything we are blessed with for granted, but to cherish it and make sure we remember it’s a gift, not a guarantee.
While there is so much history and meaning behind Thanksgiving, it will remain a time to come together with loved ones. We get to make key memories, and reminisce on old shared ones. Even with all the temptations to jump ahead to winter holidays, don’t skip out on one that brings so much joy, remembrance, and food, during the fall season!
