Thanksgiving expression for the Black community began as a church-based celebration. Black pastors often gave sermons about struggles, hopes, fears, and triumphs. The sermons usually talked the institution of slavery, the suffering of the Black people, and often pleaded for freedom.
Thanksgiving was also a period where enslaved people would try to escape due to the ending of crop season.
In 1863, after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation he signed an additional proclamation to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday officially.
The relationship between gratitude and Thanksgiving is deeply ingrained in the holiday.
It is a popular Thanksgiving tradition to go around the table and share what each family member is thankful for.
Some of us grew up going around the table and sharing something we’re thankful for each year. Children are often thankful for their friends and their things, while adults tend to be more grateful for family and gathering together.
Quotes about gratitude and Thanksgiving flood on our social media feeds along with “#blessed” and “#thankful.” While those sentiments might be sincere, there's a difference between being thankful and being grateful.
Being thankful is a fleeting moment like when your partner randomly buys you your favorite snack or fills your gas tank.
Being grateful is a mindset. The state of grace is a constant state of thankfulness. It’s an appreciation for all that life brings, good and bad.
During the first three years of a child’s life, important emotional and behavioral patterns are formed. Thanksgiving is an opportunity for parents to help teach kids that it’s important to be grateful everyday.
Although the development of children is important, moms are not thanked enough for all they do throughout the year and even on the day of thanks. Black moms are often the ones who organized the meal, cooked the majority if not all, set the table and were the last to eat.
Moms show us how grateful they are for their families and communities all year long, this year take some time to include gratitude for your mom in the thanksgiving roundtable