...Action de Grâces
The temperature and the leaves are dropping, it's that time of year. Fall. I don't know a single person that hates fall. There are crazy people who hate summer because they don't like being hot, or people who move away from the cold because they hate winter (**cough my brother cough**) and can't hack it. Some people hate the muck and grime of spring, but I don't know anyone who hates fall. And if you do, you will probably want to stop reading now.
The reason I love fall so much is because of Thanksgiving. There are other reasons too, hot apple cider, coffee seems to taste better, long walks in the brisk air, the clothes you get to wear, the leaves on the trees, it's all wonderful but Thanksgiving is the cherry on top of it all.
Thanksgiving usually has wonderful weather to go along with it. When I was away for school I came home for a friend's wedding. I packed the usual fall clothes, but it was 28°C. The year prior, other friends got married that same weekend and it snowed. Heck, we got married in February and it was -5° and it looked like we got married in October - not a snowflake in sight. Weather isn't all that predictable. But oddly, the day after our snowy-Thanksgiving-wedding friends got married it was nice out again. It's as though the holiday cannot be tainted.
I love that it is a reason to get together with family. I love that there is no pressure for gifts, but there is a generous heart in all of the people that surround you. They, like you, are panicking thinking of things to say at the table when called upon to announce what they are thankful for. The smells in the air are unbeatable, harvest of the crops, the turkey roasting in the oven, fresh baked buns, and wet leaves. It is intoxicating. It is beautiful.
It never seems to be in a rush. It's like a pause button before the Christmas shopping and the hectic nature of that upcoming season. It's quite the opposite from our southern neighbours who are pausing to remember the near extinction of the originators of their land, and then nearly killing one another over door crasher prices in the wee hours of the night. Canadians saw that and said, let's push it a month sooner, have nicer weather and be glad that the crops are [almost? Most years?] all in and celebrate the bounty that is before us. And, let's get together before the road trip to do so could be a white-out with black ice conditions that could result in our deaths.
Relaxing.
The French call Thanksgiving Action de Grâces. I think that the air of Thanksgiving fills people with a renewed level of grace. Forcing yourself to pause for a moment and think of all of the amazing people, situations, and experiences - good and bad - that you can be thankful for can fill even the stoniest at heart with grace. Grace for the hardships behind us, and those yet to come, grace for the people in our lives, grace for the seasons that we have yet to encounter (both winter and the figurative seasons of life), and grace for the bounty that will be before us.
Happy Thanksgiving. Joyeux Action de Grâces.
Thank you for reading, I appreciate it.
That's all.
The reason I love fall so much is because of Thanksgiving. There are other reasons too, hot apple cider, coffee seems to taste better, long walks in the brisk air, the clothes you get to wear, the leaves on the trees, it's all wonderful but Thanksgiving is the cherry on top of it all.
Thanksgiving usually has wonderful weather to go along with it. When I was away for school I came home for a friend's wedding. I packed the usual fall clothes, but it was 28°C. The year prior, other friends got married that same weekend and it snowed. Heck, we got married in February and it was -5° and it looked like we got married in October - not a snowflake in sight. Weather isn't all that predictable. But oddly, the day after our snowy-Thanksgiving-wedding friends got married it was nice out again. It's as though the holiday cannot be tainted.I love that it is a reason to get together with family. I love that there is no pressure for gifts, but there is a generous heart in all of the people that surround you. They, like you, are panicking thinking of things to say at the table when called upon to announce what they are thankful for. The smells in the air are unbeatable, harvest of the crops, the turkey roasting in the oven, fresh baked buns, and wet leaves. It is intoxicating. It is beautiful.
It never seems to be in a rush. It's like a pause button before the Christmas shopping and the hectic nature of that upcoming season. It's quite the opposite from our southern neighbours who are pausing to remember the near extinction of the originators of their land, and then nearly killing one another over door crasher prices in the wee hours of the night. Canadians saw that and said, let's push it a month sooner, have nicer weather and be glad that the crops are [almost? Most years?] all in and celebrate the bounty that is before us. And, let's get together before the road trip to do so could be a white-out with black ice conditions that could result in our deaths.
Relaxing.
The French call Thanksgiving Action de Grâces. I think that the air of Thanksgiving fills people with a renewed level of grace. Forcing yourself to pause for a moment and think of all of the amazing people, situations, and experiences - good and bad - that you can be thankful for can fill even the stoniest at heart with grace. Grace for the hardships behind us, and those yet to come, grace for the people in our lives, grace for the seasons that we have yet to encounter (both winter and the figurative seasons of life), and grace for the bounty that will be before us.
Happy Thanksgiving. Joyeux Action de Grâces.
Thank you for reading, I appreciate it.
That's all.
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