A Big Thank You!
The US festival of Thanksgiving is on 24 November 2022
by Brian Radcliffe
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To encourage us to consider the importance of thankfulness.
Preparation and materials
- If there are any staff or students who have an American background, you may wish to interview them about their plans for the day.
Assembly
- Begin by saying ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’
Pause for effect. - Explain that these words will be used a lot on a particular day this month: in the USA, there is a national holiday called Thanksgiving, which falls on 24 November this year. Many Americans will sit down to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, which usually includes turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, squash, sweetcorn, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. It’s a bit like a traditional British Christmas dinner, except that the ingredients are all indigenous to the Americas.
- Setting aside time to give thanks, and holding feasts to celebrate a harvest, had happened in the Americas for centuries. However, the main focus of Thanksgiving festivals in the USA nowadays is the actions of the Pilgrim Fathers, who were early immigrants to New England and Virginia.
The event that Americans commonly call the ‘First Thanksgiving’ took place in October 1621 and involved both Pilgrims and Native Americans. What were they thankful for? First, for the safe landing of ships from Europe, which had brought supplies and new immigrants to join the community. Second, for the first harvest that the Pilgrims had been able to gather. Who were they thankful to? The Pilgrims were deeply religious people, so they were thankful to God for everything that he had provided in their lives. - Thanksgiving has been celebrated on and off in the USA since its inauguration by President George Washington in 1789. Since 1863, it has been observed annually in the USA and nowadays, it is a national holiday. For some, it’s still a time to be especially thankful to God, whereas for others, it’s simply the first holiday of the winter season.
Time for reflection
Saying thank you is a form of politeness that we are all encouraged to use many times during the day to show our gratitude for simple things, whether it’s someone opening a door for us, handing us our meal, sharing a seat or explaining a set of instructions. However, thanksgiving goes much further than that; it’s a mindset.
Saying thank you makes us focus on what we have, rather than what we don’t have. We thank someone and value what they contribute to our life. We recognize that our life is better because they are part of it. We’re thankful for good experiences that have brought us pleasure and satisfaction. We’re thankful for the possessions that we enjoy. In a society where we’re encouraged to want more, to envy each other and to crave the newest version of technology, fashion or experience, it’s an important antidote.
Thankfulness contributes to brain health like exercise contributes to bodily health. We become calmer, more balanced and more in control of our thoughts and actions. We become contented.
But who should we say thank you to? Sometimes, it’s obvious. We recognize an individual’s actions or words towards us. This builds our relationship with them and makes them feel valued.
In a global sense, thankfulness can lead to charitable acts. We can’t say thank you to wheat and corn oil producers in Ukraine, but we can donate to a charity working there. We can’t say thank you to chocolate producers around the world, but we can support the countries from which the product comes. We take enjoyment and want them to share similar pleasure.
Finally, for those who have a faith, there is the thankfulness that the Pilgrims practised: thankfulness to God as the creator and provider of all good things. As Christians have sung through the centuries in an old song, ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow.’
Song/music
‘What a wonderful world’ by Louis Armstrong, available at: https://youtu.be/VqhCQZaH4Vs (2.29 minutes long)
Extension activities
- For a five-second thankfulness activity, look at what’s on your plate or in your snack box before each meal and give thanks for the people who made the meal possible, such as farmers, processors, cooks and so on.
- For a five-minute thankfulness activity, keep a gratitude journal. Every night, before you go to sleep, write down three things from that day for which you are thankful. Then, when you feel down, take a look back at what’s been good in your life.
