Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. This is not because of its historical significance — which is complicated and ignores the real context of European colonization (History.com, 2021). And this is also not (only) due to my appreciation of tryptophan and midweek football. Rather, it’s because I love having a holiday specifically designated for giving thanks, for reminding ourselves of the importance of gratitude.

Gratitude has value for many reasons, not the least of which is that gratitude often fuels philanthropy. As well it should.

Showing thanks is one of those rare virtues that is hailed by cultures and faiths all around the globe and throughout time — some might even say it is a moral universal.

Gratitude has been considered an essential ingredient in the good society by philosophers from Seneca and Aquinas to Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant (yes, Adam Smith was a philosopher, not an economist). Cicero, in a famous speech defending his friend Plancius, called gratitude the parent of all other virtues (n.d.).

Gratefulness for the blessings we receive from God/Allah/YHWH/etc. is also a central teaching across the religious spectrum. Being thankful for these blessings requires believers to be good stewards of what God provides, and to help those who have not been so blessed.

Read the full article about gratitude by Emily Brenner at Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy.