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Everyone knows how Thanksgiving got started. Some Pilgrims in funny-looking hats and some friendly Indians got together and had a feast, right? Well, in reality, it was a whole lot more than that.

God was the center of the Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving feast and He ought to be the center of our holiday, too. After a rough voyage and a harsh winter which killed half of the Pilgrim colonists, they had a lot to be thankful for when they gathered a plentiful harvest the next fall. They thanked God and rightly so. But like so many other events which shaped the history of our country, God has been pushed to the sidelines of this holiday. In this day and age, for so much of our country’s population, Thanksgiving is no longer about giving God the glory He deserves.

So how does Christianity influence the Thanksgiving holiday? Well, if you’re a Christian, then your relationship with Christ has everything to do with Thanksgiving.

In the words of TPS student Rebecca Corrin, “[Even believers can] have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, enjoy the time off from work/school (or at least I surely do!!), and think about the Pilgrims and Indians, but it's so much more then that!  When we think about Thanksgiving, we also think about what to be truly thankful for.  The one thing that should be at the top of every believers list is 'Jesus Christ.'"

And that’s true, for a Christian. God should be the center of our Thanksgiving celebration - our God who gives us everything we need for life and godliness in the form of Jesus Christ.

TPS student Samantha Young writes, "Non-Christians can still celebrate the pilgrims’ survival. Yes, they can be thankful for a job, health, and abundant food. Of course they can still enjoy the company of family and friends, realizing just how fortunate they are. But without a true understanding of God, they have nowhere to turn their gratitude towards for all the good things life has brought them, except to their own hard work or 'lucky stars.'"

Without somewhere to bestow thanks, Thanksgiving loses its original meaning. When the Christian origin of this holiday is ignored, Thanksgiving becomes shallow and superficial. Where gratitude to God for His abundant faithfulness should be, commercialism and self-centeredness have taken over. After-Thanksgiving sales get advertised weeks before the actual holiday and public schools teach children that the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving in appreciation for their Indian neighbors. And while there’s nothing wrong with those things in and of themselves, they miss the point. Or rather, they ignore the point.

So does religion change the way people view Thanksgiving? Whether it does or it doesn't, it should. God was the reason for Thanksgiving 400 years ago when a bunch of starving people were blessed with a beautiful harvest. In the same way, God should be the reason for Thanksgiving today and we should celebrate our holiday with particular focus on Him and His blessings. Because that’s what it’s all about. 

 

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