Rushing Past Thanksgiving

I love Christmas as much as anyone.  It's my favorite time of the year.  Of course, as a Christian, I especially love the real meaning of Christmas - the ultimate miracle of God becoming a baby boy and the Creator entering creation and being so frail and helpless, all for our salvation.  I also love many of the other, cultural accessories of Christmas: snow, decorations, holiday music, trees, gift-giving, egg nog, etc.

Here's what I don't like: In the past few years, I have seen a growing tendency at all levels of our culture to rush straight from Halloween to Christmas.  And so I must ask, "What about Thanksgiving?"  We've already started to dumb down Thanksgiving by calling it "Turkey Day."  I almost wish we could see a "Keep the 'thanks' in Thanksgiving" campaign like we've had the "Merry Christmas" campaigns.  But before we can keep the "thanks" in Thanksgiving, we need to first acknowledge the holiday and not just skip it in the headlong rush to Christmas.

Why is our culture skipping Thanksgiving?  I see two main reasons: Giving thanks is not as easy to commercialize and giving thanks is not something that can easily be done in a "religiously neutral" (read: atheistic) way.

First, it's really hard to connect thankfulness with a materialistic crusade to accumulate stuff.  Somehow, our culture has managed to do that with the birth of Christ (Thank you, Santa Claus), but aside from grocery stores (Turkey Day) and the NFL (What can you do after you've stuffed yourself silly on turkey but watch other people work hard and sweat?), most folks haven't really figured out how to commercialize Thanksgiving.  In fact, the National Retail Federation (NRF) just lumps Thanksgiving in with its "Winter Holidays" report each year.

Then, we have the awkward reality that "Giving Thanks" in most people's minds evokes thoughts of God and religious piety.  That's something our culture increasingly avoids these days.  Somehow, a zeal for the separation of church and state has morphed into an almost allergic reaction against any public expression of reverence or devotion to God.  Thanksgiving means we not only have something for which we should be thankful (which promotes contentment and not greed) but it also means that we have Someone to thank! 

Separation of church and state and public allergies to expressions of faith were pretty far from Abraham Lincoln's mind when he issued the national proclamation that established Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.  Here's part of what Lincoln said in 1863 (I added the emphasis):

"Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union."

Can you even imagine a politician today making such a proclamation?  Lincoln claims no credit for himself and direct attention to God, calling for thanksgiving, penitence and fervent petition.  No, that kind of language just wouldn't be accepted today.  No way.  And that's probably the biggest reason why we're all so eager to rush past Thanksgiving.  Oh, we'll enjoy some turkey and some football and a 4-day weekend (indulgence, entertainment, leisure) , but let's not make such a big deal of it, right?