Thanksgiving—An Occasion To Celebrate Ourselves

Thanksgiving has no strings attached.

There’s no Thanksgiving tree to decorate nor a Thanksgiving Menorah to light.

Thanksgiving does not involve the giving of presents—only thanks.

There are no Thanksgiving carols unless you include that ode to the prepositional phrase: “Over the River and Through The Woods.”

People don’t dress up in funny or scary costumes on Thanksgiving, nor do they exchange Thanksgiving Valentines, eat chocolate Thanksgiving rabbits or set off Thanksgiving fireworks.

There’s no countdown in Times Square as the Thanksgiving ball descends, and the Thanksgiving sales come after the holiday to give people a jump on THE major holiday of the year.

Yet Thanksgiving is the heaviest travel weekend of the year, by plane, train, bus and car.

Where is everyone going? Likely, the answer you’ll get to that question is “To be with my family” or some variation.

Another question asked in the week or two before Thanksgiving, especially if you live alone like I do, is, “Do you have a place to go for Thanksgiving?” which is another way of saying, “Did the people who love you remember you this year?”

Other holidays involve get-togethers, yes, and they create lovely lasting memories.

But while not every religion has a Christmas or Passover or Diwali or Eid al-Fitr, all religions do have Thanksgiving.

No, you won’t find those Thanksgivings on the calendar because, for each religion, every day is Thanksgiving Day.

The officially-approved, card-carrying, designated Thanksgiving, the last Thursday in November, is there for those who may have missed a day or two.

Give thanks this Thanksgiving for everything and everyone you’ve got.

And include yourself in that equation.

Where would we all be without you?

Photo credits: Thanksgiving Day turkey by Dianne Rosete. CC BY-ND 2.0.