A Non-Religious Holiday Season?

This promises to be even more complicated... I mean, Christmas and Easter are pretty easy, as they both have a strong non-religious tradition as well as the religious one, but Thanksgiving is trickier for me... I grew up in a religious home, so most holidays and life events are associated with religion for me, but as I've gotten older and more in-touch with my beliefs, I've moved away from "the spiritual." I do still want holidays to have a deep meaning for my kids, as that's such a fantastic way to teach good values, but I'm finding that as my Wigglebug gets old enough to be taught those little lessons, holidays in my home are requiring a re-think, to be sure I'm ready to teach the lessons I want him to learn, and not the ones that I don't. At Christmas, we'll obviously talk about thoughtfulness, family, and giving to those we love. At Easter, we'll focus more on the Earth, spring, and new life, as the original Pagan holiday did.

As Thanksgiving is fast approaching, I've been thinking this week about how to celebrate it. Most of my family and friends use Thanksgiving to thank God for the good things in their lives, but we don't practice any religion in our home, so we'll focus instead on thanking the people who make a difference in our lives. I have helped Wiggles write thank-you notes to his "helpers", and I plan to prioritize doing the same. And while I realize that "thanksgiving" literally means "giving thanks," we're going to expand the word into "thanks and giving." (Yes, many people do this. It's not an original thought, just part of my planning. I plan incessantly. It's annoying. Even to me. Aren't you glad you get to be privy to the OCD insanity too? Ok, back to my plan...) SO, to help W understand that many people don't have everything they need, and teach him our belief that being a member of the human race makes us responsible to help others when it's in our power to do so, I hope to facilitate his giving of food, clothing, and toys to local children. Maybe donations to a shelter as well? I'm not sure how to involve him in that at his age, but it seems good... I hope that as he grows up, and his sister joins him in learning, that Thanksgiving will serve as a reminder of what we have received as help from others, and our responsibility to give generously back into our community and the world, as part of the bigger picture.