Every year, on different dates, the United States and Canada celebrate Thanksgiving Day, originally known as Thanksgiving. Americans celebrate it on the last Thursday in November, while in Canada, on the second Monday in October.
Its origin takes place in Plymouth, in the year 1621, when a group of pilgrims shared their autumn harvest with the Wampanoag Indians, as thanks for having taught them farming and hunting techniques. That celebration of harmony and gratitude between pilgrims and Native Americans lasted three days.
Several years later, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that distant event as a national holiday in 1863, to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November. However, it was not until 1941 that the Congress of the North American country officially established it, under the command of President Franklin Roosevelt.
To the present day, This tradition consists of gathering as a family at the table and having a turkey dinner roasted or baked, which is the main dish; In addition, salads, bread and cakes serve as accompaniment. That night, households enjoy a special moment in which each member shares their blessings and gives thanks for it.
A new meaning to being grateful
According to the ethical and philosophical vision, gratitude is defined as a moral virtue that denotes good behavior (McCullogh, Kilpatrick, Emmons, & Larson, 2001); since it is a feeling of esteem that leads us to reciprocate the benefit that has been done to us or that someone has wanted to do to us, according to the Royal Spanish Academy. However, gratitude produces something more in us than just wanting to reciprocate a good deed.
Positive psychology, which scientifically studies everything that provides psychological well-being, began research on the effects of gratitude in the late 90s via Robert Emmons of the University of California and Michael McCullough of the University of Miami.
This study consisted of forming three groups of people, randomly assigned, with the indication of keeping a weekly diary. The first group would have to write in their journal the things they were grateful for; the second, would write down everything that made them angry; while the third group would focus on neutral events. After ten weeks, the results revealed that People who wrote only thanks showed better health than the rest of the participants.
Northrup (2012) says that when we find something to be grateful for, no matter how small, and we maintain that feeling of gratitude for 15 to 20 seconds, our body undergoes several subtle and beneficial physiological changes, for example: reducing stress levels and strengthening the immune system; better blood flow; The heart rate is harmonized and breathing becomes deeper, thus increasing the amount of oxygen in the tissues.
Developing gratitude requires will and discipline, like any other activity, so continuous practice produces physical and emotional benefits. In this way, grateful people could see the positive even in moments of suffering, valuing these elements to integrate them into their existence.
Thus, gratitude involves a balanced view of the positive and negative aspects of the experience (Moyano, 2011). Faced with life circumstances, a gratitude response can be an adaptive psychological strategy, that is, an ability to adapt to such circumstances, and it can also be an important development for the person to positively interpret their daily experiences (McCullough and Emmons, 2003). ).
You can start by spending a few minutes before going to sleep to think about everything that happened to you during the day for which you can be grateful, perhaps for that meeting with your friends, for having that coat that protects you from the cold when you leave the house, for the message that put you in a good mood, for the family, for having yourself who is alive and healthy.
For all those experiences and decisions that led you to this moment; because even from bad experiences you learn, you acquire maturity, they strengthen your character and prepare you to make better decisions tomorrow. You can do this practice as often as you like, until it becomes part of you to identify the blessings around you.
Giving thanks in an authentic and sincere way opens the doors to better health, in addition to fostering a good relationship with yourself and with others. So beyond the second Monday in October or the last Thursday in November, make every day a day of thanksgiving.
