Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. is about everything but...

Thanksgiving turkey

Let's face it, as a longstanding American holiday, Thanksgiving is losing more of its traditional significance with each passing generation. To put it bluntly, Americans nowadays don't look at this special day with the same reverence and respect that their parents and their grandparents and earlier generations did. It seems we've lost the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

A Thanksgiving Day tradition

As a child growing up in my mother's house, I remember Thanksgiving much differently from what I see taking place in America today. In earlier times, Thanksgiving meant a time of spiritual reflection and thankfulness to God for bringing our family through the struggles of the past months. We said prayers of thanksgiving to God acknowledging the fact that we could not have made it without His help. Back then, Americans were on one accord in expressing gratitude to God for blessing our land. And while Thanksgiving has distinctly Christian origins, a grateful nation embraced it as a national holiday by Proclamation of President Lincoln in 1863.

But all that seems to have changed. We're no longer as thankful or as grateful a nation as we once were. Thanksgiving celebrations are far from what the first Pilgrims in America had envisioned that first Thanksgiving at Plymouth, Massachusetts with their Native American benefactors. Fast forward to the present day, and Thanksgiving is about everything but giving thanks. A decision by several major U.S. retailers, including Walmart and Target, to open their doors on Thanksgiving to early Black Friday shoppers is evidence of this.

For most of us, Thanksgiving is about family, feasting, and football—approximately in that order. If we think about God at all, it usually involves saying a few simple pre-turkey-carving prayers of thanksgiving for His blessings during the year which is now fast ebbing away. - Mary E. Marshall, president, Peter Marshall Ministries

The Christian beliefs and traditions that birthed Thanksgiving have been questioned, attacked and maligned by anti-Christian forces whose ultimate goal is to remove the God of the Bible from our national life. To our shame, freedom of religion is quickly turning into freedom from religion. We have lost sight of who we are as a nation and of the God brought us to where we are. If we are truly "not just a Christian nation" then who are we? America is now a melting pot of many religions following after many gods, which may be the reason Thanksgiving is no longer celebrated in the U.S. the way it once was. God help us.

Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.
Give thanks to the greatest of all gods; his love is eternal.
Give thanks to the mightiest of all lords; his love is eternal. Psalm 136:1-3 GNT

If my people who are called by my name...2 Chronicles 7:14

Marshmallow cross: Taking a bite out of Easter

"A symbol of Christianity that sits atop church steeples, dangles from necks and hangs on walls is being worshipped in a new way---in the mouths of the faithful." (Associated Press)

First, there was the Easter bunny, and then Easter eggs and Easter baskets…and now, a chocolate covered marshmallow cross? Like many, I have been guilty of purchasing an Easter egg or two in my lifetime; but I draw the line when it comes to condoning this latest insult to one of Christianity’s most sacred symbols---the cross. And if that weren’t enough, this sacrilegious little candy confection is being sold at Wal-Mart, a company founded on the principles of faith and family.

One would think Christians would be up in arms over this blatant mockery of the cross. But candy manufacturer Russell Stover, who first came up with the idea of the candy cross, didn't seem to think so. In fact, Stover admits that the marshmallow cross was specifically designed to appeal to the Christian market. The success of Stover's candy cross prompted Whitman's Candy et al to cast other Christian icons in chocolate. Also available are praying hands and a “Jesus” fish symbol, both in solid milk chocolate. Apparently, there are enough Christians out there, who see nothing wrong with taking a bite out of the cross and letting it melt in their mouths. What’s next, I ask you? For now, Stover and Whitman have stopped short of offering a replica of a chocolate covered Jesus on the cross because they didn't think it would go over as well.

A sacred symbol of Easter

If all this seems outrageous, it’s because it is. Sadly, the response of the Christian church to this outrage has been far too tepid. Where are the store boycotts, protest marches, and pulpit denunciations of those who demean and mock this sacred symbol of Easter, the holiest day on the Christian calendar? Interestingly enough, I have yet to see candy replicas of the Qur’an or the Torah, or Muhammad or a mezuzah? No self respecting Jew or Muslim would stand for it. Should a candy cross be any less of an insult to Christians? Some may choose to sugar coat the issue; others may say it’s no big deal. But I wonder “WWJD?” As for me, I prefer the bloody, wooden cross of Calvary where Jesus died for the sins of the world, over a marshmallow cross any day. It just makes Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning that much sweeter.