I think Thanksgiving is my happiest and saddest holiday. I have spent it, dumped at the last minute, home eating Chinese food and watching football, alone. I have spent it with 20+ people, only two of whom I knew before that day. I’ve gathered with a handful of other “orphans”. I’ve hosted family meals. But I haven’t celebrated it with my birth family since 1972.
I have no Thanksgiving tradition. There’s nothing I ALWAYS do. The year of the Chinese dinner, I didn’t even eat turkey.
Still, I like it. I like it because it’s not tied to any specific theology, only a general sense of appreciation. Giving thanks. And while one ALWAYS ought to give thanks, one just doesn’t. The reminder doesn’t hurt.
The Census Bureau has its Facts for Features for Thanksgiving, which, as a data geek, I enjoy.
Whatever you are doing, thank you for having come by this little corner of the blogosphere.
Roger – I quite like Thanksgiving as well, but I think for the same reason many people do, as it is the kick off of the holiday season. I have to say that your Chinese dinner reminds me of A Christmas Story, which puts a smile on my face. “Tis the season to be jolly. Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah!”