Sara Sandstrom, Peak to Peak. This is the time of year that we remind ourselves to be grateful. We know the importance of this all year round, but this is a time we give ourselves a day to really think about it. 

President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 to give thanks and raise morale after the Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point for the Union during the Civil War. President Washington had encouraged something similar but then President Jefferson thought the religious overtones were not appropriate for a national holiday. 

No president deserves the credit for this holiday. The credit should go to Sarah Josepha Hale. She was a writer, editor and an activist for women’s education. She lobbied state and federal government officials for years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday on a set day. Even during the Civil War, she pushed for Americans to “put aside sectional feelings and local incidents” and unify around the gratitude and thanks. 

Thanksgiving has become a holiday in the United States defined by family gathering and the food. I have never been one that really looks forward to the traditional food served on Thanksgiving Day. That probably sounds like blasphemy to some Americans. When you sit down to a meal full of gluten and dairy and you can’t have gluten or dairy well, the meal just isn’t very exciting. I will enjoy a little turkey, some potatoes and the cranberries but that is enough for me. 

Then there is the family gathering piece. Oh, 2020 how much more can we bear? This will be the first year in over a decade that my mom will not be at my table. It is disappointing but I want her to stay healthy, I want us to stay healthy and I will do anything to get kids and teachers back in the school building. Because so many of our children’s mental health is at stake. So, Thanksgiving 2020 will look differently than past years and we will be okay with that. Bitterness is not an emotion I like to entertain, it only breeds negativity in life. 

This Thanksgiving we will probably watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving because watching Snoopy make toast and popcorn for a Thanksgiving meal is just really funny. Then, we will probably watch Home Alone. One of my son’s favorite movies and it gets us into that holiday time that I love so much.

As we always do, we will voice our gratitude as we sit down to eat turkey and cranberries. We will be thankful for what we have and the friends and family we love. And I will probably talk about the story of how Thanksgiving became a national holiday in the United States. The kids might show a little interest in another one of Mom’s history lessons. I do know it will help create memories that they will then share with their families someday.