On the cusp of the holiday season, it is only fitting to ask, “Where are the turkeys?” Every year, it seems that people decorate for Christmas earlier and earlier. I like both holidays for different reasons and have, at one point, said that Christmas was my favorite holiday. The last few years, however, I began saying that Thanksgiving was my favorite – but truthfully, it was only because I thought it was getting the short end of the stick. At the end of Halloween, or sometimes earlier, I noticed Christmas trees going up and neighbors hanging lights and planting inflatable snowmen in their yards. Why not a giant turkey instead or a grateful sign on your door?
Perhaps we must ponder why Thanksgiving comes before Christmas anyway. If Thanksgiving came after Christmas, all would be right with the world, and I am confident it would have its fair share of celebration. Still, for that to happen, the world would need to recalibrate its thinking about why we celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ – instead of materializing it so they would indeed have a grateful heart.
After a little journey on the Encyclopedia Britannica site, I discovered that New England colonists first celebrated the days of thanksgiving with prayer, thanking God for blessings such as the end of a drought or a military conquest. The U.S. Constitution gave it a national proclamation. Still, in 1798, the new U.S. Congress gave power of declaration to the states, who were split about the religious holiday, with some even taking offense to politicians using the day for speeches and parades.
It did not become an official holiday until Northerners of the federal government dominated it. With tensions still heavy in the mid-19th century, it was Sarah Josepha Hale who campaigned for the national observance to promote unity. She finally won the support of President Abraham Lincoln, who, on October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, made it a national holiday to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26.
Thank you, President Lincoln…?
I propose a new proclamation – let’s celebrate Christmas’ true meaning year-round by showing kindness and love to others, and therefore, thanksgiving would naturally follow from everyone’s hearts, getting its fair share of celebration and recognition.
As I enter this season of Thanksgiving, I have so much to be grateful for – but this year, my heart is a little fuller. Thank you, Jesus. You always know how to give the best gifts.
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11, ESV, Emphasis added).
Faith Walk Ministries, Inc. 