Sunday, November 16, 2014

Mixed Cultured Thanksgiving : "Thanks To Our Savior, Christ the King Day"

Okay folks.  I keep seeing what are probably the ugliest (possible) truths about any (USA) holiday ever since Columbus Day!  These truths are about Thanksgiving.  I was not there at the first Thanksgiving, I am not sure what really happened.  But the tradition of Thanksgiving day at my house has always been a day of giving thanks, and recalling happy stories  (which may be a lie, I don't really know) of Pilgrims and Indians sharing turkey and deer, and corn on the cob...and eating and being thankful for healthy harvests, life and new friends, etc.

This tradition will still be celebrated in my home, at least the being thankful part, and eating!

My husband (who if you have read many of past posts you will know was born/raised in Mexico) who has been here for 17 years (and counting) is still not really sure why we have to pick ONE DAY a year to be grateful on, and just what is it that we are so grateful for on this ONE DAY anyway?!?

So, I thought about this.  I am grateful every day, but if there's a special day for it then that's cool with me.  Point blank, it's one SPECIAL day for showing our thanks.  And with a firm, "Because I said so." we are making progress.

One down.

Now, what am I so grateful for?  Simple enough.  Everything!

But I made a list:

My family is healthy. (Or healthy enough, there are many worse off than we, please pray for them with us.)

We have collectively two wonderful son's and two grandchildren who are bright and lovely and beautiful...etc. (I won't make you suffer my bragging rants!)

We are not without a roof, or a floor for that matter.  (I've had it much worse and there are those out in the cold or worse, please remember them in your prayers also.)

We are not hungry when we lay down at night.  (So very many are and again, we must remember to pray for them.)

Jesus is our savior, and our protector and our gateway to his/our Father!  (This should have been #1!)

...the list goes on and on.

He's still not getting it though.  We thank God for these things every day (as we should!)

Hold up!  There it is!

This is not a day for us about what happened years ago.  This is a special day for thanking the Lord for all that he provides us!  :)

It just so happens that in Mexico there is a holiday (the Sunday before Advent, which is also the Sunday before Thanksgiving here) called "Solemnidad de Cristo Rey" or in English, "Christ the King Day".
Cristo Rey, Solemnidad de Cristo Rey


I am adding a link here so that you may learn more about this, and I strongly encourage you to Google it for even more information:  Celebrate Christ the King Day  It will open to a new page automatically and you can just toggle back here when you're done. :)

Okay, my hubby gets this.  This makes sense to him.  It's not something that his family celebrated, but it make sense!

Let's do this!

I am excited!

So, this year my family is celebrating what I am calling "Thanks To Our Savior, Christ the King Day", or in Spanish, "Gracias a nuestro Salvador, Cristo el Rey Día"!  We will be celebrating our day of thanks on the Sunday before Advent, just as they do in Central Mexico (for tradition and practicality) and we will gladly raise our hearts and voices in gratitude for all of the blessings that we are graced with throughout the entire year (and even the years before it and hopefully those to come!)

We cordially invite you to take part in this mixed-cultured giving of thanks with us in your homes!!

Let's get integrated!!! :)

Dates for 2014:
Thanksgiving (USA) Nov. 27
Solemnidad de Cristo Rey (Mex) Nov. 23

Date for 2015:
Thanksgiving (USA) Nov. 26
Solemnidad de Cristo Rey (Mex) Nov. 22

"Thank you" for stopping by! :)


PS. There is a button in the upper left hand corner that you can push to "Translate" this, (you may have to also click the language that you need) but this can be easily shared with loved ones that may not be able to read English.

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