Thanksgiving Celebration Roots:
Deeper Than We Might Realize
by Ian Mascarenhas
Thanksgiving is coming later this month (Nov. 26th) and with it comes family gatherings, feasts, festivities, etc. We’ve heard and learned about the origins that includes the pilgrims and Indians, the harvest, the celebration. And we have developed some wonderful traditions based on these foundations.
Really our “thanksgiving celebrations” have roots that are deeper and more far-reaching than we might realize. That is because the word Eucharist means thanksgiving. So the Mass in which we all participate and celebrate is truly a thanksgiving feast. Its origins are in Jesus Christ, from around 33 A.D., and also are a key part of every Mass we celebrate.
This means as Catholics our thanksgiving celebration has roots way beyond a few hundred years, and the scope is wider, all over the world. Also, instead of a short occurrence (day, weekend, week), our thanksgiving (Eucharistic) celebration is every day that the Mass is offered.
An additional idea about roots is that things grow from them, there are blossoms and blooms. So thanksgiving celebrations should help us focus on “giving thanks”, but also inspire/spur us on to act upon opportunities. Our regular practice of thanks-giving should develop into thanks-living, a lifestyle of gratitude and showing appreciation.
This kind of mindset and resulting actions feeds into the attitude/practice of stewardship, which basically is the ways we give back. So we are fed by/in/through our celebrations, but then we are also called/challenged to be productive in living thanks-giving lives!
