What is this “Thanksgiving” thing they celebrate in America?

Sometimes I think you could be forgiven for thinking its simply a time you get to kill a turkey and sit in front of the TV watching a bunch of grown men chasing a pigskin around a field.  A bit of a case of millions of people desperately in need of exercise watching a few dozen desperately in need of rest.

But obviously its so much more than that.

Wikipedia tells us

The First Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the pilgrims survive the brutal winter. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians. The traditional Thanksgiving menu often features turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Americans may eat these foods on modern day Thanksgiving, but the first feast did not consist of these items. On the first feast turkey was any type of fowl that the pilgrims hunted. Pumpkin pie wasn’t on the menu because there were no ovens for baking, but they did have boiled pumpkin. Cranberries weren’t introduced at this time. Due to the diminishing supply of flour there was no bread of any kind. The foods included in the first feast included duck, geese, venison, fish, lobster, clams, swan, berries, dried fruit, pumpkin, squash, and many more vegetables.

So Thanksgiving was originally a time for giving thanks to God.

How does this relate to Christianity in New Zealand in 2009?

The other day I was out collecting for The Salvation Army in a street day appeal.  Many people gave and for that I give them thanks.  But the really interesting thing is the way different people gave…

If giving to this type of appeal is a way of giving thanks to God for the provision He’s made for your life, you would expect those with the most to be thankful for (those with plenty) would be the most generous and the most cheerful of the givers.

But this isn’t the case.

First I have to say that those with plenty didn’t give reluctantly and they didn’t give less.

It was just so obvious that those who could least afford it gave more quickly, and with a twinkle in their eyes and with an expression of gratitude on their faces.  Once again, I’m amazed at the generosity of those who have little.  In my opinion that is the true spirit of Thanksgiving, no matter where in the world you are and whether its a public holiday for you or not.

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