An Apologetic for Thanksgiving

“Let’s go around the table and say what we’re thankful for.” At no other time in the whole year will a secular person utter these words. Thanksgiving is a special time, not something to be overlooked! Here’s the beauty of it all: WHO are they thankful TO? You have to be thankful TO SOMEONE for the gifts you receive. It’s just glaring.

Another thing: Thanksgiving has a unique menu. Other holidays do not have this! We win the next generation through many things, one of which is their taste buds. Turkey as the main dish, with all the wonderful sides. This meal takes hours to prepare. It takes all hands on deck. The preparation of the meal is just as much a part of the holiday as the meal itself.

And because so much time was taken to prepare the meal, people sit around the table to eat it! And they may get out the China, dress a little better than usual, or travel from afar. If it weren’t for the big to-do of the meal, there wouldn’t be the gathering of the people.

This may be the one time that Aunt Gertrude gets picked up at the nursing home to join the family. No one is forgotten (I hope), and the family is together again. Families are SUPPOSED to be together, you see. We’re all disconnected these days due to technology; Thanksgiving transcends all that.

Let’s consider another aspect of this. Below is the first paragraph of George Washington’s original declaration of Thanksgiving.

Hopefully that’s enough to get you excited about Thanksgiving. Christmas will come; it always does. Let’s wait on it for a few more days. Isn’t that what Advent is supposed to be anyway?