Thanksgiving - A Day To Give Thanks

Thanksgiving - A Day to Give Thanks

The fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day and the "Official" start of the Christmas Season. A day that most Americans spend with their families eating too much and watching football on TV. The day after Thanksgiving has become the biggest shopping day of the year! Some people refer to Thanksgiving as "Turkey Day". Has Thanksgiving become just another over-commercialized holiday that has lost it's original meaning? I think so.

Most people think that when the Pilgrims sat down with the Native Americans to enjoy a big meal and give thanks that was the original Thanksgiving. However, Thanksgiving actually predates 1621. The Native Americans had been celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for thousands of years before the English came to settle here.

I think that we should remember that Thanksgiving Day is a day for giving thanks. How about starting a new tradition this year with your family while your are gathered at the dinner table. Let everyone take a moment to name one thing that they are thankful for. Be sure to include the children because they will tell it like it is and usually offer more sincere thanks than the adults!

Many people have special family traditions on Thanksgiving. Some large families draw names for Christmas and instead of buying gifts for everyone they just buy for the person they picked.

I am Italian and growing up we always had a huge family gathering at Grandma's house every Thanksgiving. Our tradition was simply this - eat until you burst! The meal would be an all day event. Of course we had a big anti pasta salad and ravioli or spaghetti and meatballs or both. Then to make the few non-Italian family members happy we would also have the traditional turkey dinner with sweet potatoes and vegtables. All this was followed by a plithera of deserts.

If you have a family tradition on Thanksgiving day please leave a comment and share it with us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY