November 23, 2005

Thanksgiving.

In the U.S., it's a holiday celebrated on the last Thursday of November.  The tradition of celebrating this holiday on a Thursday goes back centuries, for reasons I'm uncertain.  A Friday would have been more convenient, but history has seldom been written for the sake of convenience.

The day, however, isn't as important as its theme.  A time set aside to remind us to be thankful.  The fact that we need a day to remind us to be thankful is a different argument altogether.  Perhaps one thing we should be thankful for is that we have such a day to remind us to be thankful.

What we have to appreciate has changed over the last 400 years. Today, most of us are grateful for football, the big screen TV, and having too much food to eat.  Abundance.  The Plymouth Colony of the early 17th century, however, were thankful for survival.

Thanksgiving has also turned into a tradition of reuniting families.  Many will moan as they pack their bags and groan as they travel long distances for a family they label dysfunctional.  When they return home, they will have fresh tales of horror to tell, about the fights and the arguments and the disagreements.  But next year, they will reunite again.  They are family.

This year, take a moment to think beyond the bird in the center of the table.  Don't limit your thanks to what you have, but look in the other direction and recognize that the details of your life aren't as bad as they might be.  And give thanks that you will still be thankful for what you have, even after this last Thursday of November is over.  Even during the rest of the year, when you don't remember to be thankful.