Situation: Tom and
Mary are on their way to their grandparent’s home to celebrate Thanksgiving
with the rest of their family.
Mary: Mom, are we
almost there yet? I am so hungry I could eat this whole dish of cornbread!
Mom: Not quite, Mary.
We have about another hour of driving before we reach Grandma’s house. I know
both of you are very hungry, so how about some apples? I cut some into slices before
we left this morning.
Tom: What about the
cornbread, Mom? Can we each have a piece? They look so good!
Mom: Not yet Tom.
Don’t you want to wait until you get to Grandma’s house and share the cornbread
with everyone? Remember, Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate with family.
Tom: OK, Mom. I
suppose I can wait until we get there then. Mary, do you want to share some of
these apple slices with me?
Mary: Yes, please! I am
so hungry—I cannot wait to eat Aunt Grace’s yams, Grandma Patty’s mashed
potatoes, Uncle Joe’s steaks…
Tom: Uncle Tom’s
turkey, or Aunt Sue’s pumpkin pie!
Mom: Stop it you two!
I am getting hungry now too!
Mary: Mom, why do we
always eat these types of foods on Thanksgiving? What is so special about these
dishes?
Mom: Actually, the
food is not the focus of Thanksgiving. We eat these dishes because they are traditional
Thanksgiving dishes; however, the main focus of this holiday is really to
praise and give thanks to God for all our blessings. And what better way to
celebrate God’s blessings than to gather with our family, the biggest blessing
of all?
Tom: I learned in
History class that Thanksgiving does not happen on a specific date like Christmas
does every December 25th. Instead, Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the
fourth Thursday of November each year.
Mary: Ahhhh! So
Thanksgiving is like Tet? There is no specific date for Tet. Tet just starts on
the first day of the new moon.
Tom: I suppose you
could say that Thanksgiving and Tet are similar in that manner. But they are
two completely different holidays! Didn’t you learn anything about Thanksgiving
in your class? Do you remember the Pilgrims or the Native Americans?
Mary: Yes, I remember
learning about Squanto, the Native American who taught the Pilgrims how to grow
corn when they first came to America. He was a big help to the Pilgrims, and without
him, they might not have survived.
Tom: So, to show their
appreciation, the Pilgrims hosted a feast and invited the Native Americans to
eat with them. This is probably another reason why our family comes together
for Thanksgiving.
Mom: That is right,
Tom. Families also come together to appreciate one another.
Mary: Does that mean
that Dad will make it to Grandma’s house in time for Thanksgiving dinner then?
Mom: Of course he
will! Dad shortened his business trip a few days just so he could make it to Grandma’s
house for Thanksgiving, so you see how important Thanksgiving is? I called
Uncle Joe before we left home to ask him to pick up Dad from the airport. He
might even be at Grandma’s house already, waiting for us to get there!
Mary: Great! I really
wish we were already at Grandma’s house! I cannot wait to see Dad!
Tom: Yeah, and then we
can all eat together! What a great Thanksgiving!
