Just say thanks
A bold proposal for a new holiday
By Gerry Bowler • Special to ChristianWeek
When the Protestant Reformation succeeded in winning over much of western and northern Europe from medieval Catholicism in the 16th century, one of its aims was to abolish the host of saints’ days and other special times of the church calendar.
Such days were considered economically unproductive and conducive only to idleness and superstition. Gone were Innocents’ Day and Candlemas; St. Swithin’s Day and the Feast of the Assumption; the festivals and fasts that had marked the rhythms of life in Western Christianity for more than a thousand years. Even Christmas was eradicated by law in England and some other Calvinist countries.
People must celebrate
But, regardless of the dictates of state or church, people need to mark the pulse of the year and have an occasional day that is festive and peculiar. This explains the survival of St. Valentine’s Day, for example, as a time dedicated to expressing feelings of romantic love, a fact that was noticed by merchants in the 19th century who encouraged the celebration of February 14 as a way of increasing the sale of candies, gifts and cards.
Christmas too fell prey to merchandising interests, and since 1840 the Christian festival of the Nativity has turned into the vast economic engine that it is today. Easter has become a day to increase the sale of chocolate rabbits. The date of American Thanksgiving was pushed back by presidential decree in order to allow more time for Christmas shopping. Not content with taking advantage of pre-existing holidays, clever commercial folk invented new ways to encourage us to part with our cash: Mother’s Day appeared in 1908, becoming the biggest day of the year for North American restaurants and florists; then came Father’s Day 1910, a boon to neck-tie manufacturers.
Since then we have been blessed with a host of similar attempts to turn guilt and sentiment into money: National Secretaries’ Day, Boss’s Day, Children’s Day, Summer Solstice, Grandparents’ Day and more. Aside from National Buy Nothing Day (of which I may speak at another time) all of these special calendar dates profit merchants and deplete the wallets of consumers.
Costs nothing
What I propose is a day whose observance will cost us nothing but will enrich us all: a National Day for Saying Thanks.
One might think that with Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day already on our calendars, we don’t need a day to remind us to be grateful, but the former has become a harvest festival and observation of the latter centres on issues of war and peace. What I would like is simply a day to remember debts of gratitude and render thanks to those who have done us good turns, and it seems to me that Christmas, with our families gathered round us, is a splendid time for doing just that.
When the celebration of Christmas was restored in 1660, widespread prejudice against the excesses of its celebration endured. In the 1678 book, The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas, for example, Christmas is portrayed as an old man on trial for encouraging social inversion, drunkenness and wastefulness.
In his own defense he replies: "We are commanded to be given to hospitality, and this hath been my practice from my youth upward. I come to put men to mind of their redemption, to have them love one the other, to impart with something here below, that they may receive more and better things above: the wise man saith, ‘There is a time for all things, and why not for thankfulness?’"
Why not indeed?
Here are some of the people we should thank this Christmas.
Parents and grandparents
They have done more for us than we can possibly know and deserve our grateful remembrance, even if they are no longer with us. In parts of Europe both Catholics and Protestants have a Christmas custom of visiting the graves of family members, decorating them with evergreens and singing a hymn.
Children
Whatever trials they have given, remember: they could be a lot worse. Catch your children doing something good and thank them.
Teachers
Taming new generations of children for the sake of civilization is a task that deserves the gratitude of everyone. I would like to thank Mr. Clark of Walter Murray Collegiate for drilling me in the wonders of English grammar and the marvel of the semi-colon.
People in the media
If an author has given you pleasure over the years, write a thank-you note. If you liked a movie or a television show, e-mail the producer. We are quick to condemn the media but slow to be grateful. If a culture columnist has aroused your interest over the past year, renew your subscription to ChristianWeek and insist that a raise in free-lance pay rates is in order.
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading.
Gerry Bowler is a Winnipeg writer and historian. You can read previous columns at the ChristianWeek web page, or contact him directly at: gbowler@videon.wave.ca
