28 Thanksgiving Quotes To Inspire Gratitude This Year

image

Thanksgiving Day is here again. How are you celebrating this special occasion this year?

Just like the spirit of Christmas, the essence of Thanksgiving is something we should, ideally, adopt into the philosophy of our daily lives. It’s not just about the food, the family and what’s on television, but rather about the blessings of these things in our lives, and our gratitude for them.

Here are 28 inspirational quotes on Thanksgiving for us all to reflect on this 28th of November.


1. “On Thanksgiving I will stop to give thanks that my family is safe and healthy, especially because I realize that, following the tragedies of this year, it is all too real a possibility that they might not have been.” – Bobby Jindal

Are we taking for granted the presence of our loved ones?

*******

2. “Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.” – E. P. Powell

3. “Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.” – Edward Sandford Martin

4. “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.” – H.U. Westermayer

Giving thanks isn’t only reserved for those with plenty.

*******

5. “Thanksgiving is a season that is very much in accord with the themes and teachings of Jesus Christ.” – John Clayton

6. “There is no racial or ethnic involvement in Thanksgiving, and people who may be very distant from the Christian system can see the beauty and the positive spirit that comes from the holiday.” – John Clayton

7. “Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” – J. Robert Moskin

Well said! Wherever or whenever we belong, gratitude should be entrenched in our hearts, minds and way of life.

*******

8. “If you think Independence Day is America’s defining holiday, think again. Thanksgiving deserves that title, hands-down.” – Tony Snow

9. “On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.” – William Jennings Bryan

We need each other, and we need something far greater than us too.

*******

10. “Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song.” – Konrad von Gesner

11. “How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child’s personality. A child is resentful, negative, or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness; they draw people.” – Sir John Templeton

Let’s be grateful people and teach our children to be grateful too.

*******

12. “Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.” – W. J. Cameron

13. “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” – Henry Van Dyke

Let our lives be an expression of the gratitude we hold in our hearts.

*******

14 .”To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.” – Victor Hugo

15. “So while it’s true that Thanksgiving only comes but once a year, we should actually celebrate thanks each and every day. It’s just a matter of learning to live with a spirit of gratitude.” – Unknown

16. “Thanksgiving like contentment is a learned attribute. The person who hasn’t learned to be content will not be thankful for he lives with the delusion he deserves more or something better.” – Robert Flatt

We can learn to be grateful!

*******

17. “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

18. “Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others. All of them, from Martin Luther King Day to Arbor Day to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, are in one way or another about being thankful.” – Jonathan Safran Foer

Every celebration is about gratitude!

*******

19. “True thanksgiving means that we need to thank God for what He has done for us, and not to tell Him what we have done for Him.” – George R. Hendrick

20. “God is glorified, not by our groans, but by our thanksgivings.” – Edwin Percy Whipple

21. “Eucharisteo – thanksgiving – always precedes the miracle.” – Ann Voskamp

22. “Thanksgiving, to be truly Thanksgiving, is first thanks, then giving.” – Unknown

Most of us wait for good things to happen to us before we are thankful; perhaps we need to first be grateful, then good things will happen, often unexpectedly.

*******

23. “Thanksgiving is nothing if not a glad and reverent lifting of the heart to God in honor and praise for His goodness.” – Robert Casper Lintner

24. “Thanksgiving is possible only for those who take time to remember; no one can give thanks who has a short memory.” – Unknown

Are we ungrateful and discontented because we have poor memories, forgetting all the blessings we have received? Many of which we were once so desperate for, but now take for granted.

*******

25. “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” – James Allen

26. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” – Colossians 4:2

27. “We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” – Unknown

28. “Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home.” – Wilbur D. Nesbit


There are more thanksgiving quotes at allinspiration.com, as well as some fun thanksgiving ideas at 101InspirationalIdeas.com. You may also enjoy material on inspiration for living or inspirational life quotes.

Reuben also owns several health websites, including Insights on Health and All 4 Natural Health.


Reuben Chow