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 Christmas and New Year’s Day. New Years Day included a meal of oyster stew, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream at my grandparent Raymond and Rebecca 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 “Let’s be thankful holiday.” I’m sure that retailers’ promotion of other more profitable holidays has something to do with the reason that Thanksgiving is becoming more forgotten and a less appreciated holiday.

The necessity for thankfulness is the belief in the 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 the government for a free meal and handouts? When a society isn’t thankful to the Lord and continue to make demands, the nation will not long survive. God judges the nation that pushes Him aside and is not grateful for the things He provides, for the freedoms that they have, and for all He continues to do for them.

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

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