November arrives and with it comes coupons and flyers announcing another gigantic sale of the items required to "make your Thanksgiving Feast special this year". With every passing year the world outside our cottage presents a slightly more commercial perspective on "the Holidays". Things aren't what they used to be!

Thanksgiving seems to have been forgotten somewhere between Halloween and Santa Claus. Yet, I sense a longing for the warm, beautiful Holidays of yesteryear in the eyes of the people rushing past us.  Despite all of the "things" that are available to enhance the occasion.. something still seems to be missing.

I wonder if the missing element might be that wonderfully reassuring security of a day at Grandmother's house? I recall a Thanksgiving table, laden with goodies, each item prepared with love; a home where one is surrounded by family and friends sharing gentleness, warmth and the true giving of thanks for lives blessed by God. Thinking back to Thanksgiving celebrations from my childhood, I long for just such an old fashioned day.

If anticipation was a prerequisite for an old fashioned Holiday celebration, simplicity was the glue that held our traditions and values together. Thanksgiving at Grandmother's was a celebration of simplicity. She based her plans and dreams on the firm foundation of a simple faith in God and His goodness and mercy.

In preparation for the celebration of Thanksgiving 2005 we looked at other web sites to see what was being offered. We found cooking, decorating, entertainment, a timetable for dinner -- everything needed to complete a Thanksgiving Day in this young century. But what of the gentleness, love and grace of those Thanksgiving Days from long ago? How does one include the delicious odors wafting from the kitchen, or the laughter of children romping through the dining room looking for their seat at the table?  How can feelings of warmth and security be shared though fiber optics?  Is it possible to impart a sense of the true meaning of an old fashioned Thanksgiving across the vastness of cyberspace?  Yes, with a few simple words, borrowed from a 1920's novel:

" Just enjoy to the depths of your soul -- that's worship.
Be thankful for everything -- that's praising God as the birds praise him.
And "do unto others"— that's all there is of love and religion in one fell swoop."
                                      —Gene Stratton-Porter....The Harvester

And so.. the secret of a real old fashioned Holiday..

Wherever you are, whatever the day holds for you, no matter in what circumstances you find yourself -- ENJOY TO THE DEPTHS OF YOUR SOUL, BE THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING, AND DO UNTO OTHERS! You will be blessed with an old fashioned Thanksgiving Day!

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