“Thanksgiving”…………the word alone creates images of family reunions, roasted turkey with stuffing and of course the pumpkin pie………and, if you are Italian like me, all this turkey stuff comes after you have had your lasagna, meatballs and gravy, antipasto, etc. LOL
Let's not forget the football games!
Italians living in Italy do not celebrate Thanksgiving as we do here in North America although they do have many holidays called La Festa del Ringraziamento (Festival of Thanks). These holidays, or "feast days' refer to a variety of religious holidays held throughout the year to honor patron saints.
Giving thanks was, and still is, the primary reason for ceremonies or celebrations.
Here is what I think everyone perceives of Thanksgiving: It's less about focusing on giving thanks than it is about gorging on turkey and stuffing. Ironically, perhaps, during the same week as our Thanksgiving, my girlfriend who lives in London said that they celebrate National Thank You Week. It's not just about this vague notion of thanks -- it's aimed at helping us thank the people we encounter every day.
Thanking people isn't simply a matter of common courtesy. Yes, there was a study on this topic; does that surprise you? There is a study on just about everything these days. A 10-year study of 200,000 managers and employees showed that saying "thank you" correlates with bigger profits. This isn't surprising, because giving thanks is a great motivational tool; who doesn't like to be thanked? What is surprising is how hard it is to do the thanking.
For example: Lawyers should be thanked. I’m not joking! The American Bar Association estimates that nearly three-quarters of all lawyers provide free services to disadvantaged people or the organizations that serve them -- about 20 million hours a year. Let's say these lawyers usually bill about $250 an hour. That's about $5 billion a year in donated value to the not-for-profit sector -- an enormous gift, and especially for small shops without huge corporate accounts to rely on, a big strain.
So think twice before telling a lawyer joke. And if your group gets pro bono help, try to steer your lawyer some business that pays.
Thanksgiving Day is approaching! What plans do you have?
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I will be here zula, zula!
Hugs, Rose
You are right, Thanksgiving seems to have morphed into gorging. However it also provides (or used to) many days of left overs. haha.
ReplyDeleteOh shucks, I will still tell the lawyer joke, only because I have, and do, thank lawyers. Knowing several lawyers, I have become good friends with Vickie. I used her firm to close most of my realestate sales. I 'enjoyed' (honestly) her closings. She made them interesting (really!). So much so I had to take my little grand daughter in for a couple, hoping to inspire her to the law profession, it didn't work but she sure enjoyed Vickie.
LOts of tales there. THANKS for the reminders.
Sending Love from Blue Springs....
For me the people that impress me the most are those that have barely enough for themselves yet they share the small amount that they have with others that have less and they do so quietly and without fan fare. They don't even deduct it from their taxes. they just do it because it is the right thing to do. 25 dollars to them may be half of their food budget yet 25 dollars to others is a tip.....Thanksgiving is the time of year to be thankful for what we have....
ReplyDeleteThank You for sharing all the info on the Italian way of giving thanks. I do love Italian food but never thought of it for Thanksgiving. It is very true that most celebrations are a way of giving thanks. And celebrations alway seem to involve food too. To me every day is a cause for celebration and I try to count my blessings and be thankful for them every day too.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting post. I enjoyed hearing about La Festa del Ringraziamento. We usually celebrate the holiday alone, but this year we will get to spend it with my parents. Hope you have a wonderful celebration. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the next 35-45 days. Holidays and parties, my favorite time of the year.
ReplyDeleteJimmy
I love a good lawyer joke (just as I'm blonde and also love a good blonde joke), but you have made an excellent point, and I actually personally know some great people who are also really good lawyers.
ReplyDelete