Tag Archives: Holiday

American Thanksgiving

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Someone asked me earlier this week how it is possible to celebrate Thanksgiving without turkey.

I gave up eating meat nearly two years ago…so not eating a turkey on Thanksgiving is not a problem for me…but the question itself made me stop and think.

Why do we (Americans) celebrate Thanksgiving?

Do we celebrate Thanksgiving so we can over eat, nap and watch football? Maybe.
Do we celebrate Thanksgiving so we can wrestle our fellow americans for a TV that is marked 50% off? Maybe.
Do we celebrate Thanksgiving so we can enjoy a 4 day weekend? Maybe.

Without digressing into a story about Europeans landing on foreign soil that they would infest with disease and eventually dominate and destroy…I would like to consider what Thanksgiving could be…if we as americans could turn a few of our priorities around and focus on the good in ourselves and each other rather than the external things that we surround ourselves with.

Maybe if more people looked across the table at their family member and sought the things that make that person good and kind…instead of focusing on our disagreements.

Maybe each of us could take a minute to think of those who don’t have family members to share a meal with. And realize how fortunate we are to be in a house full of love and goodness.

Maybe we could extend an olive branch to the individuals that we have shut out of our lives.

Maybe we could spend time talking about the Grace our God freely gives and the forgiveness we are granted…even when we don’t deserve it.

Gratitude is an easy thing to forget…We often take our lives, our family and our friends for granted…

Lets all take a minute to say thank you…
to our family,
to our friends,
to a total stranger,
to our God

for our family,
for our friends
for the strangers that surround us,
for our God

Happy (American) Thanksgiving everyone…may we all find a reason to be grateful everyday.

E = Easter

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Easter, the Christian holiday meant to commemorate the resurrection of Christ. Honestly I’m not sure how this holiday is celebrate in other countries but somehow, here in the United States, we recognize the resurrection through chocolate bunnies and hard boiled eggs dyed with bright colors. Oops…I almost forgot, we also eat a lot of food!

When I moved to Texas I learned about a tradition that I had never experienced in Ohio. Cascaron eggs…AKA Confetti eggs. I have learned that confetti eggs have a long history in Mexico…and this explains why they are so popular in Texas! As neighboring States (state and country to be exact) we share many traditions.

Confetti eggs are just that….real eggs hallowed out and filled with confetti. The eggs are then smashed over the heads of friends and family (I would suggest you never smash a confetti egg over a stranger’s head….really don’t!)

Our house not only enjoyed chocolate candy and decorated hard boiled eggs yesterday, we also played with cascaron eggs. Fortunately we did all of our smashing outside!

The confetti

The confetti

Even though we took the messy fun outside….we are still finding confetti on our pillows, on the couch, and on the dog. Maybe by next Easter all the confetti from this year will be cleaned up and we can do it all over again!

The A – Z Challenge will run through April. Each day is a different letter and a different photo…I hope you all enjoy!

Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top / The Little Tree

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Image

This tree can be found on top of a hill, overlooking Fort Worth Texas. 
The tree was originally decorated for Christmas by a local homeless woman named Carla Christian. She wanted the homeless of Fort Worth to have a Christmas tree. 
Carla died several years ago…..but someone continues to decorate the tree. Whoever has taken over the responsibility of decorating this little tree on the hill does so for many holidays throughout the year, not just Christmas. As you can tell by the photo it was recently decorated for Easter.