“OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS”

“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandma’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifting snow.”

I learned this Thanksgiving song when I was in grade school. I sang this first verse to my son when he was two or three years old. He seemed to like it.

In today’s world maybe Grandma is rearing the grandchildren. Or Grandma lives with her children and grandchildren. Maybe she lives in a retirement apartment. Or she resides in a nursing home. Maybe something has come between the parents and Grandma and they are estranged.

Let’s imagine the children and their parents DO go to Grandma’s. They could go by car. My mother and I went by plane one Thanksgiving. In cities like New York and Chicago, the family might take the subway trains or the elevated.

The original reason for celebrating Thanksgiving was to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest. The pilgrims wanted to remember where their great blessing came from. Now, in these present, times, shouldn’t we gather together for the same reason?