Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States and is the beginning of quite a busy time of holiday celebrations. Not everyone celebrates all of them, of course, but there are plenty of celebrations going on during the next month or so.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Some form of Thanksgiving has been celebrated in North America since the 1600s. The story of the pilgrims feasting with their Native American neighbors is part of American history and plays a large role in our modern holiday. The colonists often set aside days of thanksgiving, and after the founding of the nation, there were many proclamations of state or national days of thanksgiving. It was President Abraham Lincoln who set aside the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving, and it's been an annual observance ever since.
I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. ~ Abraham Lincoln
My family celebrates Thanksgiving with a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and the guys usually watch football. My husband's birthday is also at the end of November, so we celebrate that around the same time, and sometimes on the same day. For us, Thanksgiving is also the time to decorate for Christmas. Thanksgiving, by the way, is my favorite holiday, because it's not nearly as commercialized as the others, and it is focused on expressing gratitude to God for all our blessings, and celebrating together with family and friends.
"Expressing gratitude for the miracles in your world is one of the best ways to make each moment of your life a special one. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!" ~ Wayne Dyer
The Season of Advent
The season of Advent begins on Sunday. Advent is the four-week period before Christmas that is meant to be a time of reflection and preparation for the coming of Jesus. Christians remember the promises and longing of the people of Israel for their Messiah, and also look forward to when Jesus the Messiah comes again. Although it is a time of reflection, there's a lot of celebration involved because we know that God kept his promise to send the Messiah, the Saviour for all the world; and so we can trust that he will keep his promise to come again! Many Christians light Advent candles on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas as part of the celebration. Because Advent represents a time of preparing, Advent calendars with chocolates, candy, small toys, or other treats are enjoyed by kids and adults alike as they count down to Christmas. Even if those daily countdowns don't have anything to do with the Christian season of Advent!
Every year we celebrate the holy season of Advent, O God. Every year we pray those beautiful prayers of longing and waiting, and sing those lovely songs of hope and promise. ~ Karl Rahner
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Happy Hanukkah!
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday, the Festival of Lights, that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt. At that time, there was only a single jar of oil suitable for lighting the lamps in the temple, but it miraculously burned for eight days. Long enough for more oil to be prepared. Jewish people have celebrated this miracle ever since by lighting the menorah for eight nights. The holiday is also celebrated with special foods and by giving gifts. This year, Hanukkah begins on December 15th.
Just as Hanukkah candles are lighted one by one from a single flame, so the tale of the miracle is passed from one man to another, from one house to another, and to the whole House of Israel throughout the generations. ~ Judah Leon Magnes
Hanukkah is...the festival of lights, instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights ~ Adam Sandler
Merry Christmas!
Of course, Christmas!! For a lot of us, this is what it's all leading up to! Christmas is the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, which is where the name of the holiday comes from. It's the Christ Mass. Somewhere along the way, we added Yule logs, Christmas trees and lights, and all kinds of gift-giving traditions. The feast of St Nicholas, which is at the beginning of December, got bundled in among various Christmas legends and traditions, and eventually we wound up with Santa Claus and reindeer and the North Pole. What was once a church feast day to celebrate Jesus' birth is now also a very secular and very commercialized gift-giving occasion, celebrated with parties, music, decorations, music, and so much more. Some celebrate Christmas without any connection to the religious significance; some celebrate only the birth of the Christ Child and aren't comfortable with all the rest of it. And a lot of us celebrate both the religious and the cultural aspects of Christmas. That's where I am, by the way. To me, Christmas is a cultural and family holiday, even though I wholeheartedly celebrate the hope and joy of Jesus Christ and his coming.
The truth is that our way of celebrating the Christmas season does spring from myriad cultures and sources, from St. Nicholas to Coca-Cola advertising campaigns. ~ Richard Roeper
For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home. ~ William Jewett Tucker
Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most. ~ Ruth Carter Stapleton
Happy New Year!
And before the Twelve Days of Christmas are over, we also celebrate a new calendar year. With too much history for me to even summarize it! But for most of us, it's another chance to celebrate with friends and family and good food. And to look forward to second chances and fresh starts, a new opportunity to do better, and maybe make some resolutions we'll keep.
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~ Oprah Winfrey
Then sing, young hearts that are full of cheer,
With never a thought of sorrow;
The old goes out, but the glad young year
Comes merrily in tomorrow.
~ Emily J. Miller
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Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive.
Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me.
And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking.
~Gregory Maguire~
Wednesday Quotes 2025 Themes
January 8 - Planning Ahead/Setting Goals
January 22 - Winter Sleep
February 5 - Love Inspires Us
February 19 - Staying Balanced
March 5 - First Impressions
March 19 - Looking After Yourself
April 2 - Competition
April 16 - Spring Colours
April 30 - Morning Routines
May 14 - Memorable Vacations
May 28 - Telling Your Stories
June 11 - Summer Fun
June 25 - Patriotism
July 9 - Hobbies
July 23 - Being Adventurous
August 6 - Spirituality
August 20 - Writing Letters
September 3 - Chocolate
September 17 - Making and Keeping Promises
October 1 - Autumn/Another Spring
October 15 - Daily Bread
October 29 - Night Skies/Stargazing
November 12 - Good Manners
November 26 - Celebrating Holidays
December 10 - Winter Wonderland
December 24 - Holiday Memories
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