Everyone I know is either stuffing turkey or getting ready to stuff themselves up over the weekend, and for good reasons. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and all across America, even my buddy Joe (the vegetarian), will be in a festive mood enjoying the holiday season. That takes us into a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years to the day the Pilgrims set aside to offer thanksgiving to God for their ability to survive in a strange new land devoid of the comforts they had left behind when they ventured across the vast Atlantic to begin a harsh new life in a new world.
That’s the whole spin on Thanksgiving. The keywords here are ‘God’, ‘survive’, ‘strange land’, ‘harsh new life’ and ‘new world’. Unless any combination of these words have any relevance to your life, eating all the fried turkey and exchanging all the hugs and pleasantries will be just that;- you will be better off believing in Santa Claus.
Americas public display of Thanksgiving is become more of a tradition than it having any significance in our meaningless feasts. Do we really stop to wonder just who it is we are thanking? And for what?
If people had any idea that in celebrating Thanksgiving as a national holiday most Americans are thanking God for their blessings, they'd be going after it the same way their are seeking to convert Christmas day into a pagan holiday celebrating winter, or snowmen, or mass worship at the altar of commerce, or some other such pagan nonsense. I doubt that any sizeable number of those sitting down at Thanksgiving tables across the nation realize their primary purpose in joining together is to express their gratitude to God for the gifts he has given them over the past year. It's not God who is the centerpiece — IT'S THE TURKEY ON THE PLATTER.A little history lesson here, in his Thanksgiving proclamation, Washington wrote: 'It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits and humbly to implore His protection and favor.' Later, during the very heart of the Civil War, in October 1863, President Abraham Lincoln created an annual day of thanksgiving. That is what brought us to where we are today.
Tony ‘Romeo’ and the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Mangini Jets at 4:15EST on ABC is only a sideshow. I thought Ill mention it for good measure;- expect a good game to be thankful for, but nothing Patriots-esque. Sorry. So while you eat, stuff yourselves with all the fried turkey, mashed potatoes and dressings; while you make conscious decisions to gain 20lbs in a weekend and feel guilty about it, find one more reason to be thanking God.
Happy Thanksgiving.A random thought.
