“We’ve got another holiday to worry about. It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us.”
“Holidays always depress me.”
“I’m doomed. Three guests for Thanksgiving, and I’m not even going to be home.”
“I went down to buy a turkey tree and all they have are things for Christmas.”
“I’ve seen you make toast, Charlie Brown. You can’t butter it, but maybe we can help you.”
“Are we going to have a prayer? It’s Thanksgiving, you know.”
“What kind of Thanksgiving dinner is this? Where’s the turkey, Chuck? Don’t you know anything about Thanksgiving dinners? Where’s the mashed potatoes? Where’s the cranberry sauce? Where’s the pumpkin pie?”
“Look at this! Is this what you call a Thanksgiving day dinner? Did we come across town for this? We’re supposed to be served a real Thanksgiving dinner!”
“What’s this? A piece of toast? A pretzel stick? Popcorn? What blockhead cooked all this?”
“Sally, Thanksgiving is a very important holiday. Ours was the first country in the world to make a national holiday to give thanks.”
“In the year 1621, the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast. They invited the great Indian chief Massasoit, who brought…a great abundance of food. Governor William Bradford and Captain Miles Standish were honored guests. Elder William Brewster, who was a minister, said a prayer that went something like this: ‘We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land. We thank God for the opportunity to create a new world for freedom and justice.”
“But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by ‘Thanksgiving,’ Charlie Brown.”
“Isn’t it peculiar, Charlie Brown, how some traditions just slowly fade away?”
(- image and quotes from “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” by Charles Schultz)
God,
We praise your name in song and glorify you with thanksgiving. You are good and your love endures forever; your faithfulness continues through all generations. Thank you for sweet stories that remind us of the many blessings we have in our lives, especially of family, food, homes, and health. As we prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow, we pray you will help us finish the work that needs to be done, but focus on the fellowship with family and friends. Bless the hands that prepare for the day, and give it reasonable expectations, abundant help, and bountiful conversation filled with grace, love, and joy. Before we take off into the Christmas season, help us to fully pause with thanksgiving for all you have provided for us and all you have done in our nation’s past, present, and future. Help us not forget our history or traditions, but help to create a world of your justice and freedom. You are good and your love endures forever. We ask these things in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5 NIV)
“I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:30 NIV)
“With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord…” (Ezra 3:11 NIV)