Thankful for our bounty; looking ahead to local holiday events

It's difficult to imagine today, with agricultural production so increasingly abundant in the last century, but not too long ago, entire communities lived and died by the quality of their harvests.

There was no such thing as crop insurance or government subsidies, pest control or mechanized production. If a harvest went badly, a long, hard and even fatal winter loomed.

If a harvest went well, on the other hand, it was the perfect excuse for celebrating while setting aside stores until the next growing cycle.

That, more than anything, is where the practice of Thanksgiving came from -- thanking God for enough food to last the winter, and expressing that thankfulness among the family and friends who all worked hard to tame the land.

Unless we specialize in agriculture nowadays, many of us earn our keep in more passive professions and buy our food at a grocery store. But we still celebrate the gifts we've been given, and we still do it among loved ones. We still remember, somewhere in the back of our minds, what it took to get us where we are as families, communities and as a nation. That day is today.

So as we get ready to enjoy our annual Thanksgiving feast, let's remember its meaning. But, above all, let's make sure we show the special people in our lives how much we appreciate them and how glad we are to share what we have.

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Now that Thanksgiving is upon us, it marks a transition to the winter holiday season. Don't forget to check out the following holiday events coming soon to the area:

• Holiday of Lights Display: Cape Girardeau County Park (began Nov. 25)
• Holiday Light Extravaganza: Nov. 27, begins at 5 p.m. in Jackson City Park, with the lights display being switched on
• Small Business Saturday: Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., downtown Cape Girardeau
• Parade of Lights: Nov. 29, downtown Cape Girardeau
• Handel's "Messiah": Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m., Bedell Performance Hall, River Campus/Southeast Missouri State University
• A Christmas Carol: Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., Bedell Performance Hall, River Campus/Southeast Missouri State University
• Downtown Christmas Open House: Dec. 4. downtown Cape Girardeau
• Jackson Christmas Parade: Dec. 5, 4:30 p.m., uptown Jackson
• Sounds of the Season: Dec. 6, 2 p.m., Cape Bible Chapel