Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The True Meaning of Thanksgiving


Ready for some Thanksgiving quotes?

I don't mean the "I'm thankful for my Xbox Live" or the "I'm thankful that I got 200 bucks for my birthday!" quotes that we hear all too often lately. I mean some real Thanksgiving quotes that remind us of what we really have to be thankful for.

Here are 10 Thanksgiving quotes to celebrate and ponder.

1. "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." ~ H.U. Westermayer

2. "Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." ~ Edward Sandford Martin

3. "There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." ~ O. Henry

4. "You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled." ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

5. "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

6. "We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction." ~ Harry A. Ironside

7. "It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful 'in general.' It's very strange. It's a little like being married in general." ~ Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

8. "It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast." ~ W. J. Cameron

9. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." ~ Cicero

10. "Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men, but be careful that you do not take the day and leave out the gratitude." ~ E.P. Powell

This Thanksgiving Day, let's remember what we truly have to be thankful for. Let's take a good, hard look around us and realize that while we may not have everything we want, what we want is not always what we need. Let these ten Thanksgiving quotes remind you of the true meaning of this great American holiday as you celebrate with friends and family.

Ohhhh and if you have already sipped the KoolAide and started putting your Christmas lights outside.. you know who you are... Just hold off.. just 1 more week before you turn them on.
Jessie

4 comments:

  1. WOW! Thank you so much for sharing these quotes. I need to print these out for my kids. I honestly don't think they "get" the true meaning behind Thanksgiving and what it represents.

    I love the image you chose to go with it too! That's perfect! LOL!

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  2. Great post! Thank you for the quotes.

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  3. Amazing quotes!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

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