Thanks for Another Thanksgiving Come and Gone

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Five years ago I wrote a little essay on why Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday, and the other day a viewer said, "I wish you would do that one again."

So, if not by popular demand, at least by special request, here it is and here's why Thanksgiving is my favorite:

Christmas has its music, the Fourth has fireworks, but we celebrate Thanksgiving by doing what we shouldn't - eating too much.

Maybe that's why it is so much fun!

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that is not about someone or something else. It's just about us, our families, and if they include grandchildren (God's preview of heaven), it's all the better.

So we gather with no purpose but to be together, say thanks, and dive into a great meal.

Like an aircraft carrier that leaves port only when surrounded by smaller ships, Thanksgiving arrives surrounded by a flotilla of smaller holidays that are observed with the same discipline and ritual.

Wednesday has become Getaway Day, the busiest travel day of the year. Friday is Leftover Day for the stay-at-homes and Black Friday for the shoppers.

And then there is today: Sunday, when millions sigh and say of their recent visitors, "We love 'em, but thank heaven they're finally outta here. Now we can get back to normal."

How to celebrate that? Go to the fridge right now. There should be a little something left to nibble on.