Thanksgiving has a lot of emotional heat associated with it. Family drama, the actual Thanksgiving story which was not so thankful day for the Wampanoag people. However, there is a lot about Thanksgiving history that is interesting to know. So here are a few fun facts about Turkey Day:
First Thanksgiving was a harvest feast in 1621 ... in October. There's no record of turkey being eaten at the meal this holiday is based upon, just waterfowl, venison, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash. So, per Rogers and Hammerstein, "chicks and ducks and geese better scurry."
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is called Drinksgiving. A usual time of being back home and visiting old friends at the bar before the family festivities begin. Since we all must stay home, it's a good year to celebrate this event - you won't need a dedicated driver, UBER, LYFT, or cab.
Black Friday, is of course the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year. It is also the busiest day for plumbers.
"Jingle Bells" was a song written in 1857, originally called "One Horse Open Sleigh." Its composer, James Pierpont, intended it to be a Thanksgiving Day song, but it became so popular around December 25th, that in 1859 the title was changed to "Jingle Bells" and it was dedicated as a Christmas carol.
Thanksgiving became a federal holiday in 1863. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." Lincoln's GPS might have been a bit off on the location of the beneficent Father or Mother or Force or Divine Intelligence or The Thing Itself 's dwelleth-ing-ness, but the sentiment was certainly there.
Speaking of location. Have you decided how you're gonna do it this year? many are having an online family get together on FaceTime or Zoom, etc. So here I would like to offer you a short primer of 9 to save your Thanksgiving Zoom Dinner:
1) Can also use Google Meet, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams
2) You don't have to zoom through your Zoom holiday dinner as Zoom is deferring its 40 minute limit for Turkey Day, so talk politics and religion all you like with Uncle Charley.
3) Be sure to designate yourself the host. Be in charge...of the mute button; especially for using on Cousin Fred, whose questions always get too personal.
4) Plan ahead! The placement of cameras is important. Maybe put a laptop next to the turkey or on one end of the dinner table, place an iPhone near the cranberries, a webcam in the kitchen and by the stuffing, and perhaps an Ipad or tablet next to the pies.
5) Have a practice run. You'll have some more time with the family you like, and more opportunities for holiday food! Perhaps on Drinksgiving.
6) Remember since it is your Zoom Turkey Day, you have control over the mute button. I know that's a bit of a repeat, but important to remember.
7) Don't get stressed out about the usual hiccups from slow internet; lost connections. Use it as a good excuse to lose Cousin Fred and Uncle Charley for a bit or forever – other than using the mute button.
8) You might want to pick a background for the Zoom call, that way you don't have to tidy up the house.
9) Most people won't know about the unlimited Zoom thing for Turkey Day. So, go ahead and keep it as short as you like. Maybe stick to the usual 40-minute limit. You know, have a prayer or two, the meal, some quick dessert, then ... “nice to see ya, thx btw, goodnight!”
Gratitude comes from the Latin, gratia, meaning grace or graciousness. Gratitude then is a thing of grace to be thankful.
Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. ~Henry Van Dyke
GRATITUDE is more than a holiday experience, it is a daily part of living. Bad or good experience, let us be in gratitude. Whether it is a happy time or a challenging time with something learned, let us love it even if don't like it. Living in gratitude expands what you have now; it opens up a Power within you to have more from this ever-emerging infinite Universe.
Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life. ~Rumi
Gratitude and manifestation go together like turkey and mashed potatoes! It is full of feeling, impulse, and action.
Feeling ALWAYS precedes demonstration. The creative process is set in motion by our thoughts and feelings, whether conscious or unconscious, individual or collective. And It inspires an impulse.
Impulse is the act of following your inner guidance as you make decisions. Listening and heeding to the voice of the Divine within you. That which is instructive and constructive. That which inspires each step of the way. When you follow your Highest Self's guidance, it should feel effortless and fun! and leads you to...
Action. The Universe doesn’t act until we do. We set the Law in motion with our thoughts and feelings of gratitude and being physically engaged. So let us say, thx btw, as we harness the Divine Power that is our birthright, and:
- Center ourselves in the quiet place within, where all possibility lies - communing with Spirit, our Highest Self;
- Thx btw, as we set our intention for manifestation, the starting point of everything that takes place in the Universe. When we see it, feel it, imagine it, taste it, smell it, experience it in our minds and hearts - we manifest it;
- Thx btw, as we let go and let God handle the details of how / when / where it comes about;
- And thx btw, as we follow the intuition stirring in our bellies and live as if our intention already is.
Ernest Holmes reminds us:
...Universal Subjective Mind is a doer and not a self-conscious knower. It knows how to do it but It does not have any conscious knowledge that It is doing. Man calls It forth into expression.
The Universe is only motivated to create when you are! Our job is to know, accept, and expect with gratitude and thanksgiving. I invite you to make Thanksgiving a daily holiday; maybe without the overeating and arguments.
Say "thx btw" as you watch the gratefulness turn into an abundant expression of great love, health, creativity, prosperity, and if your anything like me, another slice of pumpkin pie.
Affirmative Incantation
I show up in the world today with my best attention, my best intention, and my greatest powers of Love and wisdom to freely share the richness of my being, my talents, my time, and my treasure.
I have the courage to be my Authentic Self on this day, knowing my mind is the mind of God Itself at work and play. I give thanks for the gracious use of my best self in this life, for me, my family, my community, and my planet. I am in great gratitude for taking my unique place in expressing the creative energy of the Universe.
I am awake! I am aware! I am revealing my magnificence … eternally grateful to the Divine Intelligence within!
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