What Holiday Do We Celebrate This Month?

The other day I was reading a blog about ideas/concepts that we assume everyone knows. The blogger asked for input on what things we assume everyone knows. Well, I assumed everyone knew what holiday we celebrate in November. Then this conversation happened... 2nd grade boy in health room with stomach ache. There is only 40 minutes of school left. He has no fever, nor does he look ill. I figure they must be doing something in class that he isn't interested in. Me:"What are you doing in class right now?" Boy: "We are learning about Pilgrims." Me: "Oh. Who are they? What have you learned?" Boy: "I don't know. It's not very exciting." Me: "Well, why do you think your teacher is having you learn about Pilgrims?" Boy: "Not sure." Me: "So, what holiday are they associated with?" Absolute blank stare. Me: "What holiday do we celebrate this month?" More staring. "It usually involves turkey, mashed potatoes, stuff like that." Boy: "I have no idea." Me: "Have you heard of Thanksgiving?" Boy: "Oh yeah." Me: "Go back to class and see if you can make a connection between the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving." So my assumption is that most people in the United States know about Thanksgiving. Although, you would now be hard-pressed to find any sort of representation of it in the stores. We move right from Halloween straight to Christmas. I find that disturbing because I believe that Thanksgiving should be one of the most important holidays. Not because it revolves around a huge meal and lots of football games, but because it should give us pause to stop and reflect on the things for which we are grateful. Gratitude is one of the forgotten virtues. I'm so proud of my sister-in-law for trying her best with her sweet little kiddos to spend time this month focusing on gratitude.