My favorite holiday…

I don’t think Thanksgiving gets enough credit.  It seems short-shrifted by Christmas, Halloween, and even Valentine’s Day.   The reason for the downplaying of Thanksgiving is, probably, that it doesn’t generate the revenue that those other holidays do for the various entities that look to those holidays to make their “bottom line”.   

But, the fact that Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday that focuses on sales and profit margins is one of the reasons why it’s my favorite holiday.  Thanksgiving has always been about getting together with loved ones, family and friends, and spending some quality time around a hearty meal.   It commemorates the feast that Pilgrims and Native Americans held to give thanks for making it through a tough time, when colonists were still struggling to scratch out a life on a new continent.   Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday until 1863, when President Lincoln made it so in an effort to boost national morale in the middle of the Civil War.

The timing of Thanksgiving is also a factor in my listing it as my favorite holiday.  It always falls on that late Thursday of November, coinciding with the perfect time to slow down, breathe, and recognize the many blessings we have to be grateful for as we near the end of another calendar year.  And who doesn’t like great food, prepared lovingly for people you care about?  Yes, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Where ever you are, whomever you are with, I wish you and your family a wonderful, restful, and grateful Thanksgiving next week.

Wade Spenader