Thanksgiving 2021
On this day of gratitude and celebration, I, like many Americans, will take a moment to reflect. Although Thanksgiving is understood to be just that, a day of thanks, our increasingly secular society seems to be a little vague on whom we are thanking. While many of us can easily identify WHAT we are thankful for, it might be less clear, to some, as to whom we are giving thanks TO. Is it our government? Our economy? Our welfare state? Our 401K? Is it favorable genes? Good fortune? Lady Luck? Is it our farmers? The local soup kitchen? Mr. Joe Biden? Nancy Pelosi? Is it ANY of these?
No… No, it’s not. While we may give thanks to all of the above, in a fashion, in the deepest sense, our thanks must be directed to God, our creator and sustainer.
With the exception of Native American traditions, the Thanksgiving Holiday, per se, is not a part of the tradition of the world’s religions. Consequently, the holiday is viewed, by some, as secular. As such, it is in danger of being shorn of the religious feeling from which it sprang. Yes we are thankful to our amazing nation for the freedoms we enjoy, to our prosperous economy for the food, clothing and shelter we depend on, to our police and military for the protection they provide us with, and to many others who support and sustain us, but we should always remember, as the Native Americans did, that all of our thanks must, ultimately, be given to God, from whom ALL blessings come.
Native Americans have several names for God:
Chebbeniathan – translated as “Supreme being.”
Gitche Manitou – translated as “Great Spirit.”
Glooskap – translated as “Creator.”
Kiehton – translated as “Great spirit AND creator.”
Manibozho – translated as “Earth Creator.”
Michabo – translated as “Creator God.”
The Wampanoag Indian Michael Tender Heart Markley recalls the Thanksgiving prayer said by his tribe:
“Let us give thanks to our Creator for all that He gives. The harvest moon has shined its brilliance over our home, and now, as we store the harvest of our work, the Creator gives His sustenance.”
The Wampanoags were the tribe with which the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving.
So, dear readers, the Native Americans got it right. Thanksgiving is a day in which we thank, first and foremost, our God (or Supreme Being, or Great Spirit, or Creator) for all the blessings HE has bestowed upon us.
In conclusion, I’d like to end with a simple prayer to be said at the Thanksgiving Table:
“Bless us O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Amen.”
Happy Thanksgiving!