Why Thanksgiving Rules

I really like Thanksgiving. First of all I just read that it is the only holiday that we have not made child centric. It is still a holiday for adults. The children are even put at the kids table in the kitchen and since I have graduated to the "big" table I like it that there is a differentiation. We have enough holidays that center on our children so I think it is good even for them (maybe especially for them) to not be the center and instead be pushed to the periphery. Second, no gifts. There is no pressure to buy gifts for everyone and so the attention is not on the material. Instead the focus is on the relationships of family and the goodness of feasting together. There is something really wholesome in that. There are traditions of jello salad with nuts and celery, or dressing balls dry enough to choke a horse, or sweet potato something that should have been a dessert from the get go. All these things passed from one generation to another. The little ones in the kitchen this year will one day be trying to carry on the traditions they remember if only lodged in their taste buds decades ago in late November. Lastly I like the feeling of a week with 3 Saturdays. I woke up this morning to another Saturday when Thursday and Friday both felt the same. There was no rush, no early appointments, no presents to prepare, just a nice hot pot of strong coffee(don't call it coffee if you can see the bottom of the cup) and a fire to start in the fireplace. I think it was G.K.Chesterton who allowed gratitude to begin to lead him to faith. He said he was looking at the Christmas stockings hanging on the mantle and thought to himself,"If my children have me to thank for putting candy in their stockings, have I no one to thank for putting two feet in mine"? So, today spend some time thanking the One who put feet in your stockings, food on your table, and another Saturday in your week. Happy Thanksgiving.