Thanksgiving trivia might include the following: what was the Pilgrim’s favorite music? – Plymouth Rock; or what sounds do space turkeys make? – hubble, hubble, hubble, hubble. Or what did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children? – if your father could see you now, he’d turn over in his gravy. When asked what he was thankful for, Johnny stated: “First and foremost, that I’m not a turkey!”
On a more cerebral note, the greatest act that we as creatures can do is to give thanks to our creator, whatever name we call him or her. In an age that has seen the removal of prayer from many schools and a debate on the correctness of using God’s name in the pledge of allegiance (U.S.), there is a danger that the “creatures” are attempting to disinherit “the creator”. Ten lepers were cured in the Gospel story of Luke 17. One came back to Jesus to say thank you. Would the story be any different in our world today?
The origin of Thanksgiving Day is generally known. As children in school we enjoyed the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower arriving in 1620 near present day Provincetown, Massachusetts. When they finally disembarked after exploring the coast for a month they found themselves on Plymouth Rock. Perhaps it was worth an extra month’s journeying to land on the place with the right name. Whatever reason, it gives us an insight into which came first the chicken or the egg.
The pilgrims survived the first winter, which was, to use the vernacular, harsh. By fall of 1621 they were ready to celebrate a bountiful harvest with the Wampanoag tribe who had taught them how to raise corn. This first thanksgiving, which was not really a thanksgiving until several years later when a celebration was interrupted by rain which ended a draught and caused some real thanksgiving, served a menu of corn and beans, along with fish and game (which later formed a league).
How “Forefather’s Day” (December 21 – the day the Pilgrims actually landed) became our Thanksgiving Day has a few interesting twists. Thanksgiving celebrations were proclaimed on the last Thursday of November by Abraham Lincoln as a way to bolster the Union’s morale. Southerners didn’t give thanks for this, and it was not until some time later before all agreed to celebrate home and family values on this day. Respect and popularity for this event was exploited by Hollywood and Prime Time networks, but even the influence of Canadian actor John Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) didn’t diminish the popularity of this American holiday.
Traditional Thanksgiving celebrations marked the start of serious Christmas shopping. Retailers like Macy’s and Gimbel’s attracted customers through lavish parades. In 1939 a practical President Franklin Roosevelt shifted Thanksgiving Day to the third Thursday of November to allow an extra week of Christmas shopping. Opponents of Franklin dubbed the new holiday “Franksgiving”. In Canada the date was set at November 6 in 1879, but in 1957 it shifted to an earlier second Monday of October because everyone’s favorite football team is still in contention for the CFL playoffs, and because Canadians need more time for Christmas shopping.
Food is often the first thought that comes to mind when one hears “Thanksgiving”. “Thanksgiving is one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. In France there are three such days: tomorrow, today and yesterday” (Michael Dressler). A typical thanksgiving consists of stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie (up to five salads may be added, depending on how much time there is to prepare). If Italian, please include pasta and wine. If your ethnic origin is not sure, just pass da wine.
Traditional celebrations often include pilgrim costumes and parades. Some old west traditions may still be part of the thanksgiving celebration, but today the “cowboys” involved most likely hail from Dallas.
Ultimately, there is much to be thankful for. The family is where we first experience love and where we pick up our deeper values (along with a sense of humor). We come back to the family to be renewed in our charity and in our faith. Then we are ready once more to go forth in peace and love to share the good news of the Kingdom.

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