Nov 10
2
Thanksgiving Traditions
“A turkey sat on a backyard fence
And he sang this sad, sad tune.
Thanksgiving Day is coming, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble
And I know I’ll be eaten soon.
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
I would like to run away.
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
I don’t like Thanksgiving Day!”
Our oldest son brought this song to our family many years ago when he attended kindergarten. (Isn’t it amazing how quickly time goes by? Now, he has children of his own.) The song quickly caught on and became part of our Thanksgiving traditions. We sing it every year, amid protestations as children grow older, but still we persist. Our favorite time to sing it is as we deliver pumpkin pies to neighbors and friends during the week of Thanksgiving. I think that my husband and I will still sing this song after all our children are grown and gone.
One of our favorite traditions is to make a paper bag turkey. If you would like to make a paper bag turkey, you will find directions on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGR-b_8HDNY . Each night, each family member writes down something they are thankful for that day and place the slip of paper in the turkey. Then on Thanksgiving Day, we read the slips of paper and try to guess who wrote them. Last night, we made our paper bag turkey during our weekly family night. Marissa, quite the artistic crafter, designed a new way to make a paper bag turkey.
Each one of us wrote down something we were thankful for yesterday. By focusing each day on our blessings, we empower ourselves and our family to look for the good in life. In these times when life is so hard for so many people, we are blessed by the opportunity to think of the ways in which we are blessed. Negative thoughts make us feel badly. Positive thoughts help us have hope that better days are coming and allow us the profound joy of knowing that we have family and friends who love us and cherish us.
Our turkey and our turkey song are two of the traditions which bind our family together as we move to different places, have new and exciting experiences; as we grow up and move on with our lives. No matter where we go or what we do, we are connected by the traditions we keep. Traditions empower us to know that there are “ties that bind.”
What traditions empower your family? What new traditions will you start this year?
