Margaret Serious

Thanksgiving for foods — some thoughts from Bartlett’s

Sometimes I think I will scream if I hear or read one more story about Thanksgiving that centers around food. A day to give thanks is not meant to be a day all about food and eating.

Not all. But being thankful for food — particular, special food, whether it’s available only at “the holidays” or it’s a special family recipe — is just fine. Just remember to be thankful for food, not thankful about food.

One of the quotations about thankfulness that I found on my recent “browsing through Bartlett’s” is one that reminded me of my recent post about tea.

“Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? — how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.” — from “Recipe for Salad” by Sydney Smith (1711-1845)

Also, it’s hard to realize in more urban parts of the country, but Thanksgiving is related to harvest festivals — a way to give thanks that there will be enough food to get through the winter. That has taken on a new tone this year, but many of us will still hear, if only by computer linkup, one of the more familiar hymns of thanks:

“Come, ye thankful people, come,

Raise the song of harvest home;

All is safely gathered in,

Ere the winter storms begin.”

— by Henry Alford (1810-1871)

Thanks to all of you for spending some of your reading time with me. Happy Thanksgiving, whether you’re officially celebrating the holiday in the U.S. or just taking a moment to add some thankfulness to your un-official days.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.

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Browsing through Bartlett’s

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2020 visions