Now that Halloween is over, let’s be getting ready for Christmas.  The stores are already decked out in Christmas style.  As the Halloween items go on the clearance racks, the Christmas goodies come out.  Around here some stores had Christmas stuff  out right after their ‘back to school’ sales. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is my favorite time of the year, but happened to Thanksgiving?

     The United States is the only place in the world that celebrates the traditional Thanksgiving  in late November.   It’s a great family gathering with turkey and cranberry sauce.  We eat until we nearly burst, then lay down and watch the football game.  We all like the food, but how many remember that’ it’s a day to be thankful to God for His blessings?Most retailers fast-forward right to Christmas.  There isn’t much money to be made on Thanksgiving, unless you are selling turkeys.

     That first Thanksgiving was celebrated earlier in the fall.  The men, women, and children that came over on the Mayflower the year before were very grateful to have survived the harsh winter and disease that took so many lives.  They were thankful that they had found some friendly Indians to help them get their village started.

     They had many of the same foods at their Thanksgiving table as we do.  They probably also had venison, pheasant,  and fish as their meat selections.  Their pies were probably limited to apple, pumpkin, pecan and sweet potato; no lemon chiffon or peanut butter cream.I’m sure they had many other dishes that they shared with their Indian friends; like fried corn and horseradish roots. 

      The biggest difference is that they dedicated the day to  thanking God for all the blessings they had in the New World.  They trusted God for everything.  They had come here to be able to worship God as they wanted.  God was their supplier, their anchor, their  protection, their healer and so much more.  How could they not be thankful?  

   Today in America we have much to be thankful for.  We are a nation full of freedoms.  We are the richest nation in the world.  Most of us have much more than we need to live.  Even the poorest American is better off than many people around the world. 

      David tells us in Psalm 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful unto Him and bless His Name.”

     In  Thessalonians 5:18 we are reminded to, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  God wants our praise and thankfulness,  not that He needs it; because He needs nothing.  It brings joy to Him when His children are thankful.

     Christmas will come in good time, but let’s not forget Thanksgiving.