A Thanksgiving Day table features foods from local farms, ranches and purveyors in Arizona. The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of survival, of gifts, of sharing and of gratitude. Colonists and Native Americans feasted on deer meat, fish, clams, fowl and corn — food they collected from nearby and from planting. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Catholic News Service • Posted November 20, 2017

This series of stories from our partner Catholic News Service offers a spiritual and communal perspective on Thanksgiving Day — a look at the day’s pervasive sense of holiness and community, an appreciation of the local foods you can spread upon your table and the biblical roots of an attitude of gratefulness.

 

Make your holiday holy, and maybe learn something new
It might not be an official “holy day,” but for Father Herb Weber, a spirit of holiness pervades the day whose centerpiece is giving thanks, discovering unity and reaching out to others with traditions old and new.

Imitate the first Thanksgiving table by going local
What today we call the slow food movement has its roots in hunter-gatherer and small-farm communities — like those of the grateful early settlers. See our recipe for locally sourced chestnut and sausage stuffing.

Look to the Psalms as models for gratitude
Saying “thank you” not only shows consideration for the one who gave a gift or did a favor, it also promotes mental health by cultivating the habit of gratefulness for all things, writes Nancy de Flon, who also offers a prayer of thanksgiving.