This month, America will be celebrating the rarest of holidays. It’s rare because very few countries in the world celebrate Thanksgiving. I did some research through Google and I was surprised to see that the only countries that celebrate thanksgiving were Canada and United States.

At least we were the only countries that celebrated this day with the foundation of thanking God. Every country has their own version of fiestas and different celebrations of independence, but only two have a holiday that was created by leaders who saw the value of being thankful to God. Now I know Jews all over the world have numerous holidays where the only reason for the holiday is to praise and thank God, which made me wonder, why don’t more countries who have a strong Christian influence, have a holiday which celebrates being thankful to God? Countries like the Philippines. I may be wrong and would actually appreciate a correction if I am, but I don’t remember celebrating a holiday in the Philippines where we celebrated being thankful.

Being a Christian, this is by far, one of my favorite holidays and I don’t even like turkey. The more I celebrate this holiday, the more I am convinced of the value of being grateful.

Being grateful is a sign of maturity. We all know that gratefulness isn’t accomplished just by those who have much. In a world where greed is so much more celebrated, thankfulness is often rare.

There is a story in the Bible that illustrates this even more. Luke 17:11-21 tells the story of ten lepers that Jesus healed of leprosy. Out of the ten, only one came back to thank Jesus. Why did only one cleansed leper return to thank Jesus? The following are nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:

One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, “O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything.”
One said, “Any rabbi could have done it.”
One said, “I was already much improved.”
Charles L. Brown

One might smile at these reasons, but it may show us why we have so many excuses on why we aren’t grateful. I wonder if God’s blessings get poured out more on the countries that thank Him? With so many people trying to get in Canada and U.S. to try to experience that blessing, it just makes me wonder! I wonder how different other countries would be if they were more purposeful in their thanksgiving to God.

Here are some reasons I think Thanksgiving is so important

• By being thankful to God, it affirms our belief that everything comes from God. Everything is so much more peaceful for those who believe that even life’s most hurtful and trying experiences are under the control of God. As the Bible says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
• It helps us remember that God is good.
• It affirms our faith and our love for God.
• God blesses those who are thankful more than those who are not. There is so much blessing just in being thankful.

Here are some results of being thankful

• Thankful people are happier. There is a higher level of contentment for those who choose to be grateful.
• Thankful people are more inspiring. They have a view of life makes you want to be around them. They are more positive, more gracious, and giving.
• Thankful people are more appreciative. Think about it, which person would you rather be with, one who only talks to you about your faults, or one who appreciates you?
• Thankful people are more a blessing than those who aren’t.

Here’s a story that I think illustrates this: In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, “Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?” The rabbi answers, “Take your goat into the room with you.” The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. “Do as I say and come back in a week.” A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. “We cannot stand it,” he tells the rabbi. “The goat is filthy.” The rabbi then tells him, “Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week.” A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, “Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat — only the nine of us.” You tell me, what do you think made those 9 men happier and more grateful?

At the very worst, being a thankful person can give you a resigned attitude that things could be worse and so you’re thankful they aren’t. At best it could make you a person who’s impact on this world would be of being a great and wonderful blessing. For some people, that actually is important.