Create Thanksgiving Day every day |09 November 2020

Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada, a day when people spend time reflecting and showing gratitude.

While Thanksgiving Day is not observed in Seychelles, we can certainly still be inspired by its important message, letting it encourage us to show appreciation, to share with others and to come together with our loved ones.

This is especially important during the current pandemic and it is for this reason that we share with you some of the most meaningful ways we can all express gratitude, not only on Thanksgiving Day, but every day before and after.

Say and show how thankful you are

Say and show how grateful you are to the people around you. This gives you the opportunity to reflect upon and take time to appreciate all the love, kindness and support that you’re shown. It also gives you a chance to give back by showing your friends, family and colleagues how much you appreciate them.

Some of the most meaningful ways you can do this is to simply say thank you to people more often at home, at work and in the community. Say thank you to your wife or husband for making dinner, to your colleague for being supportive, and to the vendors at the market who make fresh fish, fruit and vegetables available for us.

If you can’t say it in person, don’t let this deter you. Pick up the phone, send an email or even write and post a letter, just to say how grateful you are.

Volunteer to help people, animals and our planet

Dedicate your time, energy and any donations you can make to helping those who are less fortunate and/or contribute to the wellbeing of our planet.

Examples of ways in which you can volunteer include offering help at animal shelters, participating in beach clean-ups, helping someone in your community who you know is struggling, spending time with the elderly and helping them with chores. You can also donate to causes that are meaningful to you, for example foster children, whether this be financial help or putting together important items that you don’t use at home like clothes, shoes and books, and giving these as a donation.

Come together with loved ones

Your presence is what matters the most for your loved ones and this is the greatest way you can show how much you love them, care for them and appreciate them.

Think of different ways you can enhance the time you spend with loved ones; cooking a meal or baking a cake together as a family, sitting at the dining table and having some laughs over a meal, going for walks in nature together, joining a class together like art or language classes, exercise or workout together, plan a day out somewhere nice on a regular basis – whatever you decide to do, the important thing is doing it together with your loved ones.  

During this challenging year amid a pandemic, any moment we take to reflect on anything good, to say a kind word, to make a thoughtful gesture or to just be present for those around us, will help to keep us all going.

F.P.