Why is Thanksgiving just a day?
I grew up in the South, and I remember Thanksgiving mostly as the holiday between Halloween and Christmas. Oh, we’d have a turkey and dressing, and because I played in the high school band, we’d be marching in a Holiday parade. But that was about it. It really wasn’t a big holiday in our house.
Not until I got married, in 1964, on Thanksgiving Weekend did I start to really get into the Thanksgiving attitude. My family came from North Carolina, and my wife’s family was in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (Jeanne’s home town, too). We were married on a cold (snowy!) Saturday after Thanksgiving. Despite the festivities and weather, I realized my life was about to change forever, and I felt really lucky. (One of many things I became grateful for was the fact that Nancy and her family were all wonderful cooks! And I love good food! What a blessing that turned out to be.)
But I still wonder why just one day? Why not a month? Or why not make it everyday?
I decided to Google Thanksgiving and see what other people had said about it. Below is just a sampling of some of the quotes I found. I really like a number of them.
Take a look at see if you find one or two you like. And perhaps share with someone you know.
Meanwhile, HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYDAY!
Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~ G.B. Stern
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~ William A. Ward
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~ Meister Eckhart
There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude. ~ Robert Brault,
Gratitude is the memory of the heart. ~ Jean Baptiste Massieu, translated from French
When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? ~ G.K. Chesterton
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~ G.K. Chesterton
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. ~ G.K. Chesterton
If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. ~ Frank A. Clark
If you count all your assets, you always show a profit. ~ Robert Quillen
Gratitude is the best attitude. ~ Author Unknown—but a favorite of Jeanne Bice (see The Rubber Duck Principle).
