Posted in Patriotism

The pies are made, the bread has been baked, the turkey is thawing, and Thanksgiving is upon us.  It's always such a privilege to host Thanksgiving dinner in our home.

 Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday.  I love the fact that it simply cannot be commercialized, and that despite how much many people try, it cannot be separated from its religious aspect.  We are thankful to God for what He has done for us.  Even the historical underpinnings of the holiday are connected to this idea.  The pilgrims came to these shores to find freedom to worship God as their consciences dictated.  I also love that it is a quintessentially American holiday.

The following is a poem my sons will recite at our dinner tomorrow.  It beautifully captures the essence of what Thanksgiving honors.

The Landing of the Pilgrims

The breaking waves dashed high on a stern and rock-bound coast
And the woods against a stormy sky their giant branches tossed,
And the heavy night hung dark, the hills and waters o'er
When a band of exiles moored their bark on the wild New England shore.

Not as the conquering come, they the true hearted came.
Not with the roll of the stirring drums, or the trumpet that sings of fame,
Not as the flying come, in silence and in fear,
They shook the depths of the desert gloorm with their hymns of lofty cheer.

What sought they thus afar, bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
They sought a faith's pure shrine!
Ay, call it holy ground--the soil where they first trod.
They have left unstained what there they found; freedom to worship God.

~Felicia D. Hemans