Thanksgiving: time to reflect

November 19, 12:07 PMFood ExaminerEric Burkett

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Thanksgiving is more than just turkey, of course. There's
stuffing and pie, too.

Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday.

The food, of course, is certainly one aspect of the celebration and the gathering with those about whom I care and love, is certainly another. But the most important aspect of the holiday to me is, perhaps, one of the more peculiar facets of the day. It is, in fact, the day itself. Thanksgiving, of course, falls on a Thursday, the fourth Thursday of November.

I have no particular obsession with Thursday, it's a fine day. Thursday tells us to hold on for just a little longer, don't give up, the weekend is very nearly here. Thursday is the John the Baptist of the calendar, heralding something greater to come. But Thursday is not the weekend. The fact that Thanksgiving is celebrated on Thursday means we must literally stop what we're doing, we must interrupt our routine, to pause for a while and think, to be grateful.

While a number of holidays have seen their actual observance moved to a Monday or a Friday to facilitate a longer weekend, that doesn't happen with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving rather soundly jabs you in the sternum, interrupting whatever you've been working on Wednesday and demands your time. Suddenly the work week stops, we pause, and then most of us return to our routines the following Friday, except of course that day is pretty much shot because most likely we're sleepy, slightly hungover, or simply out of our work-frame-of-mind.

So Thanksgiving demands something of us, telling us we must set everything aside to consider that for which we are grateful. I appreciate that. As much as I would like to think I live my life in gratitude, I know better. I am self-absorbed, I am busy. And while I do try to express my gratitude to those around me, I often miss the opportunity. Sometimes, a simple "thanks" isn't enough, and Thanksgiving reminds me of that.

Somewhere in the midst of all the preparations, and the visiting, and the eating, the central fact of Thanksgiving is the pause to reflect about why we're going to so much trouble in the middle of the week, of all times, and - yes - wouldn't celebrating on the weekend be easier?

Yes, it would. And that's precisely why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Over the next few days, we'll look at the different foods and traditions of Thanksgiving, and maybe even throw in a recipe or two.