Thinking of Thanksgiving at Home

As I look back, I can’t remember any special moments or memories that stand out in my mind when we celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday at my parent’s house. I am unsure why, but I imagine that it’s because there were no major events or rituals attached to it. There was no giving or receiving of cards as on Valentine’s Day. There were no displays of fireworks or picnics as on Independence Day. There weren’t any scary costumes or passing out of treats like at Halloween. Then there came the celebration of New Year’s Day, which included a meal of oyster stew, apple pie, and ice cream at my grandparent Miner’s place.

Thanksgiving is tucked between Halloween and Christmas. Retailers have now pushed the Christmas sales so close to Halloween that it almost smothers the “be thankful holiday” out. I’m sure that these other more celebrated holidays have something to do with Thanksgiving being a less appreciated holiday.

The reason for thankfulness is the belief in a divine being as the provider of all of our blessings. Without a belief in God, to whom should we be thankful? Do we thank ourselves? Or should we be thankful to agencies or to the government for a free meal and handouts? When a society isn’t thankful to God and continue to make demands, it will not last. God judges the people who push Him aside and are not grateful for all of the things that He provides, the freedoms that they have and that He continues to do for them.

I believe the reason that I don’t have outstanding memories is that they’ve all have blurred together. The warm feelings of the food, family, and friendships have melded into one pleasant memory. Those feelings of sitting around a table laden with food are now shared with the memories of my family and continue to strengthen those ties. Laughter fills the room as full as do the aromas of the turkey, dressing (Mom always called it stuffing, whether in or out of the bird.), and the spices of the pies and cookies. 

It isn’t that I’m not thankful for my blessings, but the celebration of Thanksgiving was a low-key joining of our hearts and those memories has blended into one. Those Thanksgiving celebrations have connected one with another. Each year becomes another building block in for me and my family and love is the cement that binds these years into one. Happy Thanksgiving.