The Importance of Thanksgiving

Did you know that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving? Did you know that the first Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States is a matter of some dispute? Did you know that Thanksgiving was modeled after the Harvest Festivals of Europe?

You may or may not know the answers to these questions, depending on how thoroughly you research your holidays, but I can almost guarantee your child does not. For American children Thanksgiving is about "hand" Turkeys, Pilgrims and Native Americans. The original holiday was created as a religous ceremony to give thanks to God for providing food for another winter, but in this country it's easy to forget that food is still a commodity in many places; including several places in our own backyards.

The point is that school and a cursory/periphery education of Thanksgiving leaves a child with the gist of the holiday: family, football and a general warm feeling. None of these things are wrong or out of place and they certainly come to my mind when I think of Thanksgiving, but what about "giving thanks." One tradition is to go around the table and say something we all were thankful for this year. Usually the parents take this more seriously, but mostly everyone offers up the usual empty, banal statements of thanks. So here is my suggestion: mean it.

Take a second to truthfully instill the importance of this holiday. Yes it's great to see family and eat ourselves senseless, but it's also great that we get to be alive. A child is never to young to realize this. This year, maybe take your child to a soup kitchen in the morning, let them see what it's like for other people. Or maybe have a serious conversation with them and explain the holiday. It has become increasingly easy to make light of our American traditions as chances for unbridled consumerism and economic stimulation, but it doesn't have to be. Personalize Thanksgiving this year and next year, and for years to come, we will all have reason to be thankful.

VOLUNTEER:

http://www.westsidethanksgiving.org/turkey2004/pages/volunteer.html

http://www.unionstationhs.org/dinners_in_the_park.html

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/guide/thanksgiving-volunteer-opportunities/