Thanksgiving Tomorrow - Lets Say Thank You.

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Thanksgiving Tomorrow - Share a little Gratitude!

The Brits will say this is not an English festival why should we celebrate it? Especially as it was one in the eye for England.

Well, I have experienced Thanksgiving here and, in the States, and I have concluded that we could all learn something from it before we start the run up to Christmas here in the UK. And my father was born in Canada which I gather gives me some licence to celebrate.

After Remembrance Sunday I find my thoughts start to focus on Christmas, but when I lived in America, of course Thanksgiving was the big feast on the horizon.

The Origins of Thanksgiving:

There is an interesting relationship between the two Festivals in Canada where the proximity of the Armistice to Thanksgiving on November 6th prompted the Canadians to move Thanksgiving to the 2nd Sunday in October, which is closer to our own Harvest Festivals. Indeed, it appears that the first Thanksgivings in the now United States occurred after the safe arrival of 38 settlers at Berkeley Hundred, Virginia as dictated by the group’s charter from The London Company. (Set up by James I for the specific goal of colonising the Americas.)

After drought in 1620, there is a record of a celebration at Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the harvest was shared with the indigenous Indians, though there are accounts of similar festivities elsewhere as early as 1598. However, there is an even more curious synchronicity: to further confuse the matter, the Pilgrim Fathers used the Julian calendar, not Gregorian as we now do, so November 21th would have been November 11th!

Whatever the origins, the early celebrations were indeed Thanksgivings, until 1682, when they assumed a more political slant. In the next century Washington was to declare that November 26th 1789 was to be “a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by grateful hearts”. Lincoln later set the date to be the final Thursday in November and Roosevelt in 1941 moved it to the fourth Thursday of November to boost the economy after the Great Depression. It took until 1963 to fully compromise on the date of Thanksgiving as it was the subject of warring factions in Virginia!

Despite Presidential Proclamations across the ages establishing Thanksgiving formally by State legislation since the Founding Fathers, the flowers and decorations so generously shared by the Americans reflect the true nature of the feast: the celebration of the harvest and thanksgiving.

The True Nature of the Festival:

Why? Because it celebrates gratitude which is much unappreciated and especially as the nights draw in. I love this time of year when the air begins to have more of a nip to it, but I appreciate less the dark long evenings. These are however alleviated by lights on a tree. Our neighbours have just celebrated Diwali and so they prompted me to put up our lights early.

I had to do some photos for our Christmas pages and this year I decided to leave everything up. I am enjoying the subtle glow of the pretty lights on the tree especially first thing in the morning.

They are one of the things that I am grateful for and there is the real reason that I think we should pause at least tomorrow after the sorrow of Remembrance Sunday and amidst the horrors of the wars and say “Thank you!” for what we do have and do celebrate.

The joy and gratitude that might accompany Christmas is all too often exhausted in the flurry of preparations and expectations, whereas here in the closing days of November we might have the time to just stop for a moment and convey our thanks to the world.

Suggestions for Thanksgiving with an Attitude of Gratitude.

Here are my little suggestions:

1. We are not currently living in a war zone — I thank God daily for that! Even better we are living in the countryside with all its attendant joys.

2. We have food on the table and a roof over our head — say Grace of any kind, it does not have to be religious.

3. I make a point of trying to make someone laugh everyday or at least smile, even when I was ill and especially the cashier at the supermarket.

4. If it is not raining, I say thank you; if it is snowing, yes! If there is a frost, how pretty, a beautiful sunset makes my heart smile.

5. Daily, write down five things you feel grateful for. Once a month, see how many things you can find to feel grateful for in a single day.

6. Practice expressing unrestrained gratitude. Let your face light up and break into a grin. Reach out your hand as you say, “Hey, I just want to say thanks for this!”

7. By letting your voice, hands, face, and body get into the act of appreciation and smile inwardly, like hugging a secret to yourself.

Whatever, this year Thanksgiving falls on November 23rd for the Americans, so I thought it fun to do a couple of Harvest arrangements: traditionally the colours are those of fall, echoed in the amber and glowing reds of these roses highlighted by the gem-like quality of the berries and the hips and the haws. It is such a rich time of year for colour, even the late Autumn skies reflect the abundant palette of the late harvest with the glowing red, orange and palest peaches.

This Thanksgiving arrangement by the author with flowers from Ellie White Gloucestershire.

From here, we turn our attention to that most exciting of seasons: Advent… Lucy, the lurcher, and I cannot wait to share with you the fun of the preparation for the greatest Festival of the Year in the Western world — Christmas!

Thank you for reading! Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences.