Giving Thanks...before Christmas

It seems that holiday decorations go up earlier and earlier each year, with hardly a breath between
Halloween and the hallowed season of Christmas. In our frenzied anticipation of yuletide cheer, I sense an air of desperation. I totally get it. Like the song from the musical, Mame, proclaims, "We need a little Christmas, right this very minute!" Indeed, we do. But. Let's not just skim over Thanksgiving as a day to try out roasting turkey as practice for Christmas dinner. Let's stop and relish this quiet day, Christmas's gentle sister.

With this thought in mind, I composed a little poem today for some "compare and contrast" between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Full disclosure: it's not art, but it's from the heart.

Giving Thanks Before Christmas

by Kathryn Wood Ahearn

Christmas is cake, and Thanksgiving's a pie.

Thanksgiving is earth, and Christmas is sky.

Thanksgiving's a sweater—Christmas, a gown.

One wears a cap while the other, a crown.

                                    ~

Thanksgiving's a whistler, and Christmas, a choir.

One plugs in bright lights, one stokes a warm fire.

Thanksgiving's a turkey—Christmas, a dove.

Both celebrate blessings, and friendship, and love.

How perfect Thanksgiving preludes Christmas glee,

a day to give thanks before lighting the tree.

                                    ~

Christmas will sparkle, Thanksgiving will glow.

Both honor the one from whom all blessings flow.

Thanksgiving is sunlight, and Christmas, a star,

but wise men and family both travel afar

to give up their thanks, then give presents away,

gifts from the heart by camel or sleigh.

                                    ~

They say Christmas comes but one day a year,

but a time to count blessings is always right here.

So give thanks each night as you kneel down to pray

and honor the lessons of Thanksgiving Day.

Thanks for stopping by.  Y'all come back, now (and have a Happy Thanksgiving!)

Kate

Giving Thanks...no matter what

Detail from "The First Thanksgiving" by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1914

I beg your indulgence as I take a blogging break and simply reflect upon all of which I have to be thankful. 

Like most folks I, too often, let minor things annoy me and do my share of grumbling. But then...I drive past the large fortress of a prison up the road a ways and give thanks neither I nor a loved one is in residence there. I observe a severely disabled woman laboriously crossing the street and give thanks my minor aches and pains are reminders I am able to walk about on my own two feet. I see a man riding his ramshackle bicycle in the pouring rain and give thanks for the expensive gasoline I can pump into my car. I pass by a cemetery where a graveside service is underway and give thanks for the dirt my husband tracks into the house.

Everywhere I look, whether in my own neighborhood or across the world via TV and the Internet, I am reminded of just how fortunate I am. It really is all a matter of perspective and Thanksgiving is a good opportunity to remember that universal fact. 

Have a good couple weeks, dear Reader. Thanks for stopping by...y'all come back now! (And keep counting your blessings.)

Kate