<h2><SPAN name="THANKSGIVING" id="THANKSGIVING" /><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_102" id="Page_102"></SPAN>[102]</span>THANKSGIVING</h2>
<p>What does Thanksgiving mean to you? I hear one boy say, "It means a big
dinner." I think we all agree with him. Who does not welcome and enjoy a
good dinner! I hear Mary say, "Thanksgiving means a day off from
school." I guess you are right too. School is not such a charming place
that girls and boys are unwilling to have an occasional holiday.</p>
<p>Now I am going to ask some of the older people what the day means to
them. There is a young woman. She is a stenographer. She says,
"Thanksgiving means a day away from the office. I am at the office every
day except Sunday, and I do appreciate, now and then, a day that is
really my own." Yonder is a traveling salesman. What does Thanksgiving
mean to you? He says, "It means a day at home. Last year I spent one
hundred and sixty-nine nights away from home. I have three children. I
should like to see them every day. There are times when many days pass
and I do not see <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_103" id="Page_103"></SPAN>[103]</span>them. Thanksgiving week I plan to be at home."</p>
<p>There are others I could ask. Each has his answer. But Thanksgiving has
a special meaning for us. It is the Harvest time. I have here an apple.
Isn't this a beautiful apple? What color! Who mixed the paints, who
handled the brush to give such color to this apple? God. He, in his
infinite love and wisdom, has provided, through the unfailing laws of
nature, for the growth, sweetness, coloring and beautifying of all the
products of the fields. This apple is but one of many kinds of fruits.</p>
<p>Praise, then, is the great meaning of Thanksgiving. God, our heavenly
Father, sends us every good gift. From his bountiful hand come our daily
and nightly mercies. We should praise him every day. But the day for the
united chorus of praise is Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>MEMORY VERSE, <i>Psalm</i> 150: 6</p>
<div class="blockquot"><p>"Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the
Lord."</p>
</div>
<p>MEMORY HYMN [717]</p>
<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
<span><i>"Come, ye thankful people, come."</i><br/></span></div>
</div>
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