Reflections on the Thanksgiving Holiday

The holiday season comes upon us so quickly that it can be easy to lose perspective of why we are having a holiday. As these notable people comment on sometimes in seriousness and sometimes in humor, it is about giving thanks.

There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. - O. Henry

It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it. - Alistair Cooke

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. - Theodore Roosevelt

Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings. - J. Robert Moskin

Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise then you will discover the fullness of your life. - Brother David Steindl-Rast

Thank God every day when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues, which the idle will never know. - Basil Carpenter

But see, in our open clearings, how golden the melons lie; Enrich them with sweets and spices, and give us the pumpkin-pie! - Margaret Junkin Preston

It wasn't easy telling my family I was gay at Thanksgiving. I asked my mom if she would pass the mashed potatoes to a gay man. She passed them to my father. A terrible scene ensued. - Bob Smith

If I have enjoyed the hospitality of the Host of this universe, Who daily spreads a table in my sight, surely I cannot do less than acknowledge my dependence. - G. A. Johnston Ross

Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies. - Charles E Jefferson

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

Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song. - Konrad von Gesner

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. - Meister Eckhart

A woman is looking for a turkey at the grocery store. While looking through the frozen ones, she can't find a big enough one. She asks the clerk if the turkeys get any bigger. His answer? "No mam, their dead."

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment - halftime. - Author Unknown