Yet here we are in these unusual and uncertain times with the Holidays in sight.
To me it seems like we should skip this year and try again in 2021. Aren’t we anxious and stressed enough by all that has been going on? Will many of the people still suffer and die of Covid-19, which has reached an unspeakable peak at over 120,000 cases per day? The answer is, yes!
Will the festivities this year fall short of family gatherings? How will we make the best of a dire situation? Do I really feel like entertaining a couple of friends or eat alone with my husband, who loves Thanksgiving dinner at his family?
Times have changed and we must do what is best for our fellow humans.
The spirit of Thanksgiving has long been a sharing of abundance. Being celebrated here in the US on the 4th Thursday in November, it symbolizes a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest.
Historically, this Holiday is rooted in English traditions, dating back to the Protestant reformation. We, in the United States, trace this tradition back to 1621, when a celebration in present-day Massachusetts was staged due to the especially bountiful harvest season that year. Pilgrims from England which had settled in the region carried on the tradition they were accustomed to. Not until the late 1660’s was this Holiday a regular annual event.
In recent times, we have extended this celebration to give thanks not only to the bountiful food we are blessed with, but we are also thankful for all the goodness we receive daily, and we are grateful for our good health, for warm friendships and love. This year, even though with all the changes and limitations, we must be grateful and give thanks. I would say even more so. We must stop worrying and look at what’s really necessary, we must evaluate what is of value. Despite of what we see, we must keep the faith and know that everything will be alright!
I am eternally grateful that I am healthy, with a few minor tweaks, and that my family and friends have also been blessed with carrying on comfortably. I know that Good always wins over evil, sometimes not as quickly as I would like it. But in the end, we will be back at the table and enjoy each other’s company. God bless!
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