Friday, November 22, 2013

Thanksgiving!

Hello girls, Choose one or more of these quotes and relate it to your idea of Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. – W.J. Cameron Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast. – William Shakespeare Heap high the board with plenteous cheer and gather to the feast, And toast the sturdy Pilgrim band whose courage never ceased. – Alice W. Brotherton Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart. – Seneca Happy We-Stole-Your-Land-and-Killed-Your-People Day! – Thanksgiving toast, from the movie Sweet November The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts…nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. – H.W. Westermayer On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge our dependence. – William Jennings Bryan Gluttony and surfeiting are no proper occasions for thanksgiving. – Charles Lamb Turkey: A large bird whose flesh, when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. – Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year. – P. J. O'Rourke Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for – annually, not oftener – if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man's side, consequently on the Lord's side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual annual compliments. – Mark Twain

4 comments:

  1. What is Thanksgiving? To many it is a day of vacation where eating to capacity and when watching football sleepily is permitted. It is then followed by early midnight sales and a mad rush of early Christmas shopping on Black Friday. Is this what the holiday is supposed to mean? Where has the true sense of the holiday gone? Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful, to be with friends and family, this is the true meaning for the holiday.

    "The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts…nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." This quote by H.W. Westermayer punches someone right in the gut. How easy our lives are compared to the early settlers of this nation. Why were they able to be grateful in such a hard circumstance and some today can't be? They realized how lucky they were to be in America and to be alive and wanted to celebrate. We should feel the excitement. We are here, we are alive, and we should feel blessed and praise God for that.

    "On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge our dependence." This quote by William Jennings Bryan Gluttony goes along with what I just said about praising God. Thanksgiving is a day to realize we depend on his blessings and to show our thanks. It is a time to display our appreciation and help those who are more unfortunate than us. We all depend on each other and God and it is a time to show the gratitude that we should express all year long. This is what the holiday means to me.

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    1. Erin, I really liked your first quote. It definitely made me begin to think about how much more they had to deal with. Hunger, illness, and life in a new land could have made them turn away from God, yet they became stronger and grew in their love and thankfulness for him. This is a great blog, and I really enjoyed your opinions.

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  2. Thanksgiving. For someone with a family like mine, this word can strike fear in your heart. Every year, my family congregates at my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving Day. My family has two grandparents, eighteen aunts and uncles, and twenty-two grandchildren, now pack them all into a four fair sized rooms. It makes for quite the interesting day. However, this day, and Christmas which is the same situation, are my two favorite days of the year. And on Thanksgiving, every year without fail, something happens that makes me realize why I should be, and am, thankful for everything I have.

    "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." – W.J. Cameron. Last year, a family lost their home to a fire on Thanksgiving. I live in a beautiful home, with two wonderful and doting parents, and toe older sisters who are great examples of how to live in college and in life. I do not want for anything, unless it is something superfluous. And on Thanksgiving, I always make sure to do something that shows how thankful I am for my family. Thanksgiving isn't about just thinking, "Yes, I am thankful for all these things.", but never showing it. Thanksgiving is the day to put your thankfulness on your sleeve, and show everyone that you are thankful for them, and their impact on your life.

    "Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast." – William Shakespeare. For our Thanksgiving dinner, there isn't much craziness. We line up to fill our plates with the wonderful food that our family members have contributed, and sit down to enjoy it together. There is laughter, but not on a great scale. This time is more like a welcome home to our family. While most of our family lives in town, we still don't see each other very often, and we use this as a chance to get caught up on each other's lives. Especially now, with the oldest grandchildren being in college, this day is like a huge welcoming party for our family. Everyone is engaged in conversation, drawing each other closer into the family circle.

    This is what Thanksgiving means to me, showing thankfulness and welcoming home the family, and sometimes friends. It is a time for reflecting on all the gifts you have in your life and in your family. I am blessed with such a big family. I love and enjoy all of my cousins, and each of my aunts and uncles teach me things I will need to survive in life. I will always be grateful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful family.

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    1. Hannah, reading your blog makes me realize how similar our families truely are. Likewise, I come from a large family and have crazy holidays but there is not one dang thing I would do to change it! Embrace the madness, you never know how long everyone who contributes in it will be there!

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