Of all the holidays we celebrate throughout the year, the two most prominent are Thanksgiving and Christmas.
That’s not to say any or all the others aren’t important. They definitely are because in some form or fashion each of them either supports or stems from the origin and meaning exemplified in Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It is in that context that in their own ways Thanksgiving and Christmas have combined to become what we might call the gold standard of all observances and holidays.
There is disagreement as to whether the first Thanksgiving really did occur in November and whether Jesus was actually born on that date in December.
There also have been differing opinions of under what conditions did those two events occur. What’s most important, however, is that what did happen has directly or indirectly affected millions of people throughout the world.
As for Thanksgiving, the first colonists came here in a separate attempt to escape religious persecution. In doing so, they had to leave behind friends, relatives, and most everything they owned and cherished. They then had to have the courage to face and survive all the dangers and uncertainties likely to be encountered as they crossed the vastness of the Atlantic.
Even then, they had only a vague knowledge of what conditions would be waiting for them as they came ashore. Would the natives be hostile or would they be accepting? With winter fast approaching what would they do for food and what kind of structures would they need for shelter?
As it turned out, had it not been for help offered by the Indians, those early colonists would likely have perished. And so, the gathering we now observe as Thanksgiving is, indeed, held to commemorate those vital acts of kindness and helpfulness.
The birth of Jesus was also tenuous and potentially dangerous but under completely different circumstances. He was born not in a home or medical facility but in a stable filled with hay and livestock.
Three wise men heralded the event by arriving with presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, thus establishing the Christmas tradition of gift giving.
Jesus’s birth, however, wasn’t universally accepted. His followers had to hide him from those who saw him as a potential threat to their largely self-appointed prominence. That undercurrent of ignorance and intolerance continued throughout his short life. Eventually, his opponents crucified him, one of the most painful and agonizing ways any human being can die.
Although very different in nature and centuries and oceans apart, both events continue to be celebrated only a few weeks apart. That would be a welcome irony if it weren’t for the fact that we have allowed both events to become misshapen and distorted.
Specifically, gift giving plus all the associated marketing and commercial entities has caused preparation for Christmas to not only intrude upon Thanksgiving, but to also extend much farther back to the early part of November and even past Halloween into mid-October.
Neither of the holidays are about congested airports and highways, weather delays, crowded stores, maxed out credit cards, hyped sporting events, or hawked events to relieve the supposed “boredom” that sets in after all the gifts have been opened.
Instead, they are centerpieces about the coming together of two very different but mutually accepting cultures and about God and the birth of Jesus.
For all of us, that means celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with close family members and treasured friends, thanking God for everything we have, and praying for goodness everywhere.
Those are the reasons that when compared with all other holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas emerge as the gold standard, the most precious of them all.
