Thanksgiving is a holiday!

I remember the first time we went to Walmart after Halloween and the Christmas decorations were already up. My children seemed personally offended for Thanksgiving. They said, "Mom, they forgot Thanksgiving." I know that Thanksgiving isn't like Christmas or Easter with Biblicial significance. But if we didn't have a reason to celebrate Thanksgiving maybe we wouldn't be allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter in our country. Sometimes this day is just a day to get together, eat a lot and watch football. It is just the sign that Christmas is on its way.

Thanksgiving was always a great day for eating in my family's home, with all the old favorites, Turkey and dressing, giblet gravy, sweet potatoe casserole (either with brown sugar and pineapple or with brown sugar and marshmallows), mashed potatoes, home made rolls, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, creamed corn, and sometimes even Great Grand-maam's chicken and dumplings. Can you cram any more carbs into one meal...oh well, there are the pies and cakes and mmmmmm....I am getting hungry!

But my Mom always had us do some kind of Thankful activity. You know those ones where it starts out a bit awkward and quiet. Some years she would pass out 5 kernels of corn to each person and we had to say one thing we were thankful for with each kernal. I think one year we passed around a ceramic turkey and had to say something we were thankful for while we held it. Everyone was tempted to just say something easy like family, food, you know the drill. But we almost always ended the round of thanksgiving in sweet happy tears, squeezing hands of those near us. It was always so sweet! And what a prayer of Thanksgiving would follow!

This Thanksgiving, I was reminded of why the first Thanksgiving took place. The kids and I read a book, The First Thanksgiving, while riding from Tennesee to North Carolina. It talked about how the Pilgrims left England because the King had mandated that everyone become a part of the church of England. They escaped to Holland and eventually left for America in September on the Mayflower. They left with over 100 men along with their wives and children. At some point while they were staying on the boat in the winter because it had been too cold to get their homes built in the New World, they were rationed 5 kernels of corn a day. Did you read that right? FIVE KERNELS OF CORN a day. My mom was totally on to something. Hee, hee! The book talked about how even though things were so rough they still sang praises of thanksgiving to the Lord daily and had a weekly day of thanksgiving EVERY Thursday. By the time spring was in full swing the entire group had dwindled down to 47 people!!! I think it said 17 of those were children. And when the Mayflower headed back to England...NONE of those pilgrims even requested to go back. They stayed in this country enduring deaths of family and friends and harsh weather to have religious freedom. Wow!!! Praise God, Squanto taught them how to hunt and gather and grow their own food. Praise God that they took it upon themselves to seek a land and create a government that would support religious freedoms. I think I am going to start a new tradition when I host thanksgiving in my home and pass out 5 kernels of corn.