Holidays and Holy Days

Holidays and Holy Day can be celebrated together or separately. It all depends on the motives, disposition, relationship etc. There are many. Christmas originally was religious but over the years with Santa Clause, St. Nick, marketing and gift giving, it has become pretty much a mix of both secular and religious.

Here are some categories for Holidays: there are Anniversaries, Birthdays, Commemorations, Celebrations, Federal, Local, State, Special Events and on and on.

Just the other day was my younger sister’s 91st birthday. She is in Minnesota and our daughter there visited her and put her on the phone so she could receive our happy Birthday from Michigan. Small world at times isn’t it? Not like the "good 'ol days" when a long distance phone call was a really big deal!

Check your calendars over all twelve months and you might be surprised. One of my calendars showed 7 special days in November and 11 in December. Thanksgiving and Christmas are there, of course, but then there is Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) commemorating the armistice ending World War I (Nov. 11), or the establishment of the US Marine Corp on November 10 in 1775, or the declaration of war on Japan on Tuesday, December 8, 1941. There is no end of special days and holidays.

Since Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner, let’s take another look at this wonderful Holiday.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared that the Thanksgiving holiday would be celebrated on the last Thursday in November, which continues to this day.. It was a positive and secular holiday where gratitude was celebrated for the current autumn harvest.

Today we still celebrate on this day and give our thanks honoring the harvest (though not as personal a experience today for most of us) and other blessings that have occurred during the previous year. Thanksgiving reflects a sense of interconnectedness among people and cultures perfect for gathering with loved ones and expressing gratitude for our blessings, and that there is more to be thankful for than sad. Ironically, this year the gathering of family may be very difficult because of the COVID-19 virus and pandemic.

Yet, there are memories not to be forgotten: “I remember one year I missed a pass: a casserole dish full of exquisitely fluffed mashed potatoes fell out of my hands and into the sink. Everything slowed down as I felt my hand lose its grip. Fall, fall, fall… and crash! Then time kind of stopped.”.. All however went well. Later she said, “Many of us will be around “mixed” Thanksgiving tables this year, trying to be conversation ninjas to avoid differing points of view. People will be quietly gnawing on what others are saying instead of a coveted turkey leg.” (Bridget Fonger).

Let us all make Thanksgiving Day a time to remember the highlights of our year and not forget the many reasons for giving thanks—whether we can do it in person or virtually by phone, FaceTime, Zoom, or other means (perhaps a written note!).