Thanksgiving Feasting
And the leaves have all fallen to ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind--
Then Thanksgiving is finally here!
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine!
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!
This poem got me thinking: Why shouldn't every night be a "Thanksgiving"? I mean, we obviously don't have to eat turkey every night, but why is it just once a year that we really show gratitude for everything that we have? Especially around here, we are very lucky and have many privileges that others do not. Although I really enjoy the food eaten on Thanksgiving, I believe that being thankful should be emphasized more than just once a year. One might even argue that you should be thankful for being born because the chances of life are so small. Anyway, the poem also got me thinking that possibly nowadays Thanksgiving's whole meaning (getting people to be thankful) has disappeared and that people only like the holiday for the food. My personal opinion is that being thankful is more important than the food, but obviously not everyone agrees.
What do you think?
Good point! It's actually pretty funny that Americans feel the need to designate one day a year to suddenly be thankful, and they use it as an excuse to gorge themselves on turkey and pumpkin pie. We're a pretty gluttonous society all-round, I'd say, and Thanksgiving is a typical example of the laziness and consumer-minded attitudes that drive the nation. That can be seen during the winter holiday season as well, when we become more wrapped up in the idea of buying as many gifts as possible than in getting into the good spirit of true giving -- charity, spending time with family, and reflecting on how we can improve as people. Well, I guess it's workin' for us. Everyone seems happy with consumerism as it is, so bring on that turkey!
ReplyDeleteAlthough Thanksgiving is ironically a time when everyone seems to be more thankful for food than for family and our privileges, it still does a great job of bringing everyone together. At a time when it can be hard to get everyone together for a family meal because of sports, work, and school, Thanksgiving provides everyone an opportunity to get together and be thankful for what they have as a family. Although the holidays may be more about food than family, but it still provides an important opportunity for everyone to get together, something that isn't always possible every other day of the year.
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