“We have ANOTHER HOLIDAY to worry about. It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us” laments
Charlie Brown, in the annual classic, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - first seen
on CBS television in 1973 and aired in prime-time every year since. Once we hit Halloween, it seems, we are barraged
with holidays and their respective celebrations, festivities, gatherings and
fun all the way through January. In my
family it’s actually all the way through the end of April. It’s the “gift giving” season – between Christmas
in December and four birthdays and an anniversary in January, February, March
and April. Whew. But of all of the various holidays and
celebrations, one of my favorites, and honestly one of the most-often
overlooked is Thanksgiving. It just kind
of is there, at the end of November, very much overlooked by the traditional start of the Christmas
season. Especially considering here in the U.S. “Black Friday” is the very next
day, though in the past few years those sales have been creeping further and
further over onto Thursday – and continuing to overshadow Thanksgiving.
As a holiday, it lacks the hype and build-up that both Halloween and Christmas have, and certainly doesn't spark a lot of extra-celebrating as the other 2 do either - no costume parties, or staff parties, or caroling through the neighborhood. In stores it's truly overlooked, except perhaps in the grocery store where all of the feast supplies will be found. There may be a few decorator items to be found (and I do mean few), but they're most often relegated to the worst shelf space way behind the more prominently displayed Halloween fare, and often behind the soon-to-be prominently displayed Christmas fare. Very few people send out Thanksgiving cards, and no one puts up Thanksgiving lights on the exterior of their homes. In fact, many people bypass it altogether by not just putting up their Christmas lights - but turning them ON each night days or weeks before Christmas. In my neighborhood, there are already more than a dozen homes who have been turning on their outside Christmas lights for the past week or more. And a couple already have their lit and decorated Christmas trees in their front room window for all to see. So much for giving Thanksgiving a little bit of prominence, huh? Personally I do install my outside lights, simply because I like to avoid freezing my butt off in the cold whenever possible. I'd much rather get them up and in place when the temps are still decent, so I like to grab a nice weekend in late October or early November whenever possible...but I never turn them on until after Thanksgiving. I don't want to give Thanksgiving the shaft by heading straight to Christmas. That's almost as bad in my opinion as just lumping both of your children's birthdays together in one single birthday party. That might be acceptable if you have twins, but if not, they each deserve their own celebration...even if they were born in the same month, and might have birthdays close together. They're different people with different friends. Just as Thanksgiving and Christmas are different holidays celebrating different things. Don't lump them together. That's just sad.
But I do like Thanksgiving.
Sure it is filled with wonderful foods; and since our celebration of
Thanksgiving here in the U.S. is always on Thursday, it can generate 2 or even
3 days off from school or work depending on a person’s age and situation in
life; and it’s generally a time to spend together with family or friends. But it’s really so much more than just those
things. Thanksgiving. Have you ever really stopped to consider it
between bites or turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls (or popcorn, buttered toast
and jelly beans as Charlie Brown served up on his ping-pong table in the
backyard?)
This year, like last year, my mother and her husband are
here with us to celebrate Thanksgiving.
It’s a great time for them to reconnect with the grandchildren, and for
us to be able to enjoy with them. We
have always recognized the brevity of life, but after last year’s death of my
wife’s father in the fall, the first of any of our parents to leave us, we
better understand the importance and opportunity of being able to spend time
together. Throughout our nearly 19 year marriage
we have always tried hard to be sure to spend time together with extended
family when possible, but living 2400 miles for more than a dozen years of those
years has not really made it all that easy to do. We can’t simply go across town to see them,
or call them up and ask them to come over and babysit. Every gathering is intentional and
purposed. We give thanks that we still
have them in our lives, and that they are still able to travel. We know that one day they won’t be around, or
simply won’t be able to travel. We’re
relishing the time that we have.
Thanks. Giving. Two very different words combined together
create the name of the holiday. Here in
America Thanksgiving traditionally has its’ roots with the Pilgrims and a feast
celebration from 1621 – but there have been days and feasts of Thanksgiving before
that. Even sacrifices and offerings as
far back as the Israelites of the Torah section of Old Testament in the Bible. Thanksgiving has been set aside to recognize
and celebrate with great joy the bountiful harvest, and celebrating all that
God has given or provided. So by name
alone it speaks of gratitude for what WE HAVE.
But when further examined, it also is a great opportunity for
GIVING.
For the past 8 years, our church has partnered with another
ministry in town providing meals for the community – shut-ins, and others in
need, specifically on Thanksgiving Day.
Through meals delivered to people’s homes and meals served on-site in
the church’s gym, each year nearly 2,000 hot meals are provided free of
charge. In addition they offer a phenomenal Food Pantry,
serving more than 200 families each week.
We have used both the Thanksgiving Meal and the Food Pantry as wonderful
ways to teach our children the importance of GIVING. Each year on Thanksgiving morning we get up and
head over to the church to pick-up our maps for delivery, and then the
corresponding meals that we will be taking.
Many wonderful interactions with people have taken place through the
years. Some older and not able to get
out on their own anymore, others simply in need of some help due to bad
situations they’ve found themselves in.
Because of the serving others concept that my wife and I
intentionally added in to our Thanksgiving celebration all those years back, for
us Thanksgiving has become so much more than merely a parade on tv, food comas
and sports in the afternoon. It’s a time
where we can and do give thanks for our own blessings, but also a time to
celebrate and give thanks for the lives that we are able to touch by giving to
them. For all the media loves to hype
the “door buster” savings to be found in stores – the true blessings aren’t
found in any store, but rather, in the people you surround yourself with in
life. Whether they are family, friends
or someone you meet in serving others.
Whatever you do this Thanksgiving week, whether you celebrate together with family or friends, or by yourself, I wish you a
wonderful time and hope you’ll find some way to give this year. Happy Thanksgiving!
Until next time,