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November 20, 2008 | |||||||
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 Give Thanks ALL Year Long November 21, 2000 During this Thanksgiving holiday week in the U.S., we were moved to compile these ideas and links for bringing gratitude and thanksgiving into our lives every day. "Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all." --William Faulkner Did you know that 8 nations have official Thanksgiving holidays and scores more put on festivals of thanksgiving? Teach yourself something; find out about the ways that many cultures express their thanks at the Center for World Thanks-giving, a non-denominational organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting the value and spirit of thanksgiving for both sacred and secular cultures throughout the world. .
Want to get better at expressing thanks? Start a gratitude journal. Visit About.com to get ideas and samples.
"How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child's personality. A child is resentful, negative—or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people." --Sir John Templeton Read this Beliefnet article about teaching the habit of gratitude to children.
Another Beliefnet article--the health benefits of gratitude that accrue to YOU. It's a goodthing for everyone--adults and children alike.
Readers Respond Dear goodthings, I was living in Paris, France, last year during Thanksgiving on an exchange program with four Business School colleagues. There was also a handful of other students attending various Business programs throughout western Europe. For Thanksgiving, all of us decided to meet in Paris for this wonderful American holiday. Three friends made the trip from Denmark, and another made his way to France from Germany. My mom and a family friend were also in Paris for the week, as well as several family members and friends of my cohorts. Leading up to the big rendez-vous, I had ordered a turkey roulade at the only American store in Paris, "Thanksgiving." We also ordered traditional corn bread and were able to buy Stove Top stuffing. My mom brought several packages of chocolate and banana cream pie filling mixes from the States. Of course, we had many other food items that we made as well. Each person brought a dish or two that they grew up enjoying with their families. We had mashed potatoes, green beans, bread, you name it. It was 100% Thanksgiving! So, to get to the party, my mother, our family friend, a fellow exchange student, and I ventured across Paris in the subway toting two pans of turkey roulade, a tray of cornbread, four cream pies -- and a microwave! It was such a thrill to explain to our French subway mates that we were celebrating Thanksgiving. We pulled off a Thanksgiving feast for 25 people using a microwave, stove, and a toaster over. Don't ask me how we did it; it was all part of the miracle of the night. And, it was the most incredible dinner I've had, made even more special by the fact that it was Thanksgiving, we were with family and friends and enjoying the holiday with new family. We invited several German and French students to join us, and several more American students from our French program joined our fete. To top off the amazing dinner, we all went to the top of the Eiffel Tower after dinner. So every year on Thanksgiving, we're reminded of Paris, our Thanksgiving dinner, and of the family we were with when we enjoyed them both. Todd Moore Seattle, WA |
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