It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving — four days before the American holiday’s big three F’s of feasting, football and family, of which the late humorist Erma Bombeck penned: “Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Halftimes take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence."
The holiday’s roots date back many centuries, to religious prayers of thanksgiving and post-harvest celebrations of not only this country’s colonial and Puritan periods but beyond to the Old World’s Reformation era.
Gratitude and thankfulness have been a common thread to such commemorations over the centuries. However, gratitude is not to be primarily reserved for one day of reflection and expression. Rather, it is a virtue for all times and all situations.
It is good to have a grateful heart. It is better to express that gratitude to others. And it is best to underscore both with acts of gratitude and appreciation. Such was expressed by the late President John F. Kennedy: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
May his words, and the messages of others below, prompt us to feel, express and act in thankfulness — not just for a single day this week but rather to develop an ongoing attitude and practice of graciousness and gratitude.
— “I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks” — William Shakespeare, English playwright and actor.
— “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” — Henry Van Dyke, American author, educator and clergyman.
— “When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” — Tecumseh, Native American leader of the Shawnee Tribe.
— “Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” — Henri Frederic Amiel, Swiss philosopher and poet.
— “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward, American inspirational author.
— “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host.
— “To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.” — Victor Hugo, French poet and novelist.
— “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman philosopher, politician and orator.
— “For all that has been — thanks. For all that shall be — yes.” — Dag Hammarskjold, United Nations secretary-general.
— “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” — Aesop, Ancient Greek fabulist.
— “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” — A.A. Milne, English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books.
— “Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” — Lionel Hampton, American jazz musician.