Give Thanks

Giving Thanks. I grew up saying thank you for nearly everything.  At one point, my parents gave points out for doing different things like our chores and being polite - which included saying please and thank you at meal times.  We would celebrate Thanksgiving and then the tradition was to put up Christmas decorations the afternoon after the Thanksgiving meal.  That's when Christmas officially started in our house.

When I entered college, I had roommates who were strongly against Christmas music being played one day before Thanksgiving and some who were against it even before December 1st.  You also had roommates who would have played Christmas music in August if they didn't have roommates who were so much against it. 

Sometimes I have wondered why we are for or against starting Christmas early and last week it hit me.  We were at the mall and noticed the stores getting ready for Christmas already.  Halloween hadn't even passed and they were skipping Thanksgiving and going straight for Christmas.  As Josh and I left, we commented that at least they weren't pretending to be thankful for the things they have. It's true. To anyone who doesn't celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, all it's about is consumerism.  That is why I believe we as Christians should be "anti-Christmas" to some extent and push Thanksgiving for a time.  We need to remind our friends to be thankful for the things and people in their lives.  I am glad to see on facebook that many are sharing one thankful thought a day to do just that.

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