If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.
- Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1327), German theologian, philosopher and mystic
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 (1856–1939), American essayist, poet, and a founder Life Magazine
On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge our dependence.
- William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), American politician
William Jennings Bryan (Wikimedia Commons)
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
- Jean Baptiste Massieu (1772–1846), French-born pioneering deaf educator
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
- Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928), American-Jewish writer
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 (1833–1915), American author and journalist
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
- President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963)
John F. Kennedy on July 26, 1963. (AP Photo/John Rous)
Gratitude is not a spiritual or moral dessert which we may take or push away according to the whims of the moment, and in either case without material consequences. Gratitude is the very bread and meat of spiritual and moral health, individually and collectively. What was the seed of disintegration that corrupted the heart of the ancient world beyond the point of divine remedy... ? What was it but ingratitude?
- Noel Smith
Some people complain because God put thorns on roses,
while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns.
- Anonymous
From “Charlie Brown”:
Marcie: Don’t feel bad, Chuck. Peppermint Patty didn’t mean all those things she said. Actually, she really likes you.
Charlie Brown: I don’t feel bad for myself, I just feel bad because I’ve ruined everyone’s Thanksgiving.
Marcie: But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by “Thanksgiving,” Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown balloon at the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Shutterstock)
I always think it’s funny when Indians celebrate Thanksgiving. I mean, sure, the Indians and Pilgrims were best friends during the first Thanksgiving, but a few years later, the Pilgrims were shooting Indians.
So I’m never quite sure why we eat Turkey like everybody else.
- Sherman Alexie, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”
Sherman Alexie (Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons)
What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?
-Erma Bombeck, “No One Diets on Thanksgiving,” Nov. 26, 1981
Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare; they are consumed in 12 minutes; Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence.
- Erma Bombeck
An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.
- Irv Kupcinet, American newspaper columnist
I have strong doubts that the first Thanksgiving even remotely resembled the “history” I was told in second grade. But considering that (when it comes to holidays) mainstream America’s traditions tend to be over-eating, shopping, or getting drunk, I suppose it’s a miracle that the concept of giving thanks even surfaces at all.
- Ellen Orleans, author, comedian
I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.
- Jon Stewart, comedian
Jon Stewart (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
Thanksgiving was nothing more than a pilgrim-created obstacle in the way of Christmas; a dead bird in the street that forced a brief detour.
- Augusten Burroughs, “You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas”
Thanksgiving, when the Indians said, “Well, this has been fun, but we know you have a long voyage back to England.
- Jay Leno, comedian
Jay Leno (Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP/Getty Images)
And Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is—except for solar, which is just a pipe dream. Anyway, we'd like to thank you for the occasional moments of peace and love our family has experienced. Well, not today, but you saw what happened! Oh, Lord, be honest! Are we the most pathetic family in the universe or what?!
- Homer Simpson
“The Simpsons” (AP Photo/Fox Broacasting Co.)
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