Thanksgiving: The Commercially Un-Cool Holiday

Thanksgiving is only a week away! My how time flies. It seems like every year Thanksgiving gets pushed aside in anticipation for Christmas. All the stores are in full Christmas mode, with a small half isle of Thanksgiving stuff. Once Halloween is over it's time for Christmas, apparently. I hate how everything commercial does that. I admit, Thanksgiving isn't a glitzy exciting holiday, but it's one not to be forgotten.

I cannot tell you how excited I was when my oldest came home from school one day and told me all about pilgrims and what they did. My child was actually learning about such things in school? Wow! I didn't think anyone cared anymore, not to mention how any type of European settler to America is immediately labelled as "bad" nowadays. I was so thrilled Anna was learning about pilgrims. They were an awesome people filled with great courage, adventure, and conviction. They should be celebrated.

Did you know Thanksgiving wasn't an official holiday until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared it to be so? This was during the Civil War, which was not a pleasant time for anyone. What a perfect idea for people to come together and count their blessings during such a horrible time of war. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from them.

Not only is remembering why we have Thanksgiving important, but also keeping the actual holiday alive itself. I, for one, don't want it to be stamped out in my children's brains because it falls between two more exciting holidays. Halloween means free candy and Christmas means presents to kids. Kids need to be reminded that life isn't just about getting stuff. Whenever I am feeling down about life not going "my way", I always remind myself of the blessings I do have and then I end up feeling grand. We try to teach this to our children, especially at this time of year. Each November we get out our "Thankful Turkey" and every Monday night our kids add "feathers" to him. We cut them out from construction paper and take turns writing on them what we are thankful for. Then we add them to our bare turkey. It's a great exercise.

Hopefully giving thanks is something we do more than once a year, but we should especially do it on Thanksgiving so our kids know they have a lot of be thankful for. Here are a few things I am grateful for, in no particular order:

Electricity
Running water
Medication
Doctors
House
Van
Email
Gospel
Temples
Husband's Job
Good friends
Scriptures
Testimony
Food in the cupboards
Grass outback
Baby smiles
Jimmy kisses
Rachel hugs
Anna reading
Sleep
Warm blankets
Ice cream
Healthy body
Exercise
Service
Sunshine
Leaves changing
Water
Slippers
Washing machine
Dishwasher
Dryer

What are you thankful for?