Editorial: And for this, we give thanks

Despite what the Norman Rockwell images have taught us, the fourth Thursday in November is not about perfectly roasted turkeys and gathering around a perfectly set table laid out with white linens and pristine porcelain.

It is not about football. Not about Christmas music. Not about dog shows or parades or the battle plans for scoring the most deals on Black Friday. It is definitely not about tense political discussions with relatives you see once or twice a year.

That doesn’t mean turkeys won’t be roasted and tables set with care. There absolutely will be parades in the morning and football in the afternoon, and plenty of people will either instigate or avoid those political conversations with that uncle or cousin or in-law.

But the point of the holiday is not the trappings. It is the name. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks.

It seems simplistic to issue this reminder, but all too often, the meaning is lost in the medley of activity.

When the focus is on the perfect table, we forget that we are lucky to have friends and family who gather around it.

When we concentrate on the perfect turkey, the best potatoes, the most luscious pies, we distance ourselves from appreciating the abundance of what we have at a time when so many are dealing with food insecurity.

We lament the fighting with those who disagree with us rather than appreciating the fact we live in a place where we are free to disagree.

It is time for Thanksgiving to get back to the gratitude of its roots. No, not the apocryphal stories of pilgrims and natives. The reality of how Thanksgiving came to be a holiday — a campaign waged by writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale when she lived in Philadelphia.

“It is a festival which will never become obsolete, for it cherishes the best affections of the heart — the social and domestic ties. It calls together the dispersed members of the family circle and brings plenty, joy and gladness to the dwellings of the poor and lowly,” she wrote in an editorial lobbying for an annual celebration of thanksgiving.

She was not pushing for turkey or football or political discourse or an early start to the Christmas shopping season.

The purpose was to appreciate what we have. The food on our tables. The family and friends that share the day. The good in our lives.

These are the true gifts for which we should give thanks, not just on the fourth Thursday of November, but especially then.