Thanksgiving Prayers And Blessings From HuffPost Religion Bloggers

Huffington Post Religion is proud to present these original thanksgiving prayers and blessings composed by our bloggers from diverse religious backgrounds. May these beautiful outpourings of gratitude help you truly celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving this year. Also, here are some classic inspirational quotes, and Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations from Washington to Obama for your Holy Day of Gratitude.

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Comments

[HappyBirthday]

08:40 PM on 03/22/2012

nothing beats a good prayer... as been said that in everything we do, we must put God first and He will direct us and crown our effort with success...

but for birthday greetings give some cards... (http://happybirthday.com/)

[bob riversmith]

10:02 AM on 11/28/2011

"Oh Gawd...please suspend the natural order of the universe for my personal convenience...amen."
(stolen from someplace I can't remember.)

[lobstur]

07:46 AM on 11/27/2011

Gross, man. "Thanks for everything you've given ME!"
That's the spirit of Thanksgiving.

[ttsgw]

11:48 AM on 11/26/2011

If god did exist, he's for sure not good. Rather cruel, accepting, if not responsible, for all the suffering in the world.

[bob riversmith]

10:18 AM on 11/28/2011

"If god did exist, he's for sure not good. Rather cruel, accepting, if not responsibl­e, for all the suffering in the world."

Only if you buy into the notion that "Gawd" is omniscient and omnipotent. Or even remotely interested in a swarm of bugs crawling around on one particular dirt ball among the gazillions in "His" (snort) universe.

Maybe we need to think outside the monarchist metaphors of a perpetually angry and all-powerful tyrant king we find in the Old & New Testaments?

[hawaiianstile]

04:11 PM on 11/25/2011

"oh blessed Christianity. we give thanks to you for helping us purge this land of the filthy red heathens that saved our asses from starvation on this day all that time ago. amen."

bunch of nonsense.

[seektruefaith]

03:47 AM on 11/25/2011

When we give thanks to God, if we believe in one, we should do it often not just once a year. When we give thanks to our family or friends for their love, loyalty and support, we should do it often not just once a year. Giving thanks should mean more than a tradition or reason to gather together to eat and drink.

There is good reason to be thankful. A professor of the University of California at Davis, says: “Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress, and to achieve a positive sense of self.”

Time magazine points out something else: “People who describe themselves as feeling grateful tend to have higher vitality and more optimism, suffer less stress, and experience fewer episodes of clinical depression than the population as a whole.”

So let us meditate on this a moment...have we forgotten how to be thankful? Sometimes people just do little things for you. Does anyone ever hold a door open for you? Or does anyone ever pass food to you at the dinner table? It is good to say thank you for even these little things. We can even express gratitude without saying a word...a simple smile sometimes says a world of thanks.

[TomMartin]

01:53 AM on 11/25/2011

One reason why groups like the Assemblies of Yahweh reject the American Thanksgiving holiday, is that thanks are directed to God. They say correctly that the name God is of pagan origin. So they say it is unworthy to give the Creator this name. Interesting idea. And so the Assemblies of Yahweh say that God is one of the names of blasphemy, and they write God this way: G-d, to avoid using this blasphemy. In their translation of the Bible, they translate the Hebrew word Elohim not God, but leave it untranslated. Their Thanksgiving is during the Feast of Tabernacles, based on the biblical calendar. They reject all unbiblical holidays.

[tammyb1516]

10:01 PM on 11/24/2011

In my view Thanksgiving is a European American Holiday. I understand the sentiment of various alien cultures but it to me cheapens our meaning of it. It's like doing away with Washington's birthday and tacking on "Presidents" day makeing it more like a underscore socailist event. To me Thanksgiving is about Europeans that fleed from opressive Marxist-socailist liberals, whom in the end followed us here anyway. I only hope we can win without starting World War three. Thank You.

[hawaiianstile]

04:15 PM on 11/25/2011

to me thanksgiving is about a boat load of racists who ushered in the most horrific genocidal Holocaust ever seen on this side of the earth, upon the very people who saved them from certain death.

[rcballi46]

12:47 AM on 12/08/2011

Whatever! You can continue to be miserable, I enjoyed a great Turkey Dinner with my family. I wasn't part of the 'pilgrims' that came here that many years ago and, unless you are extremely old were not one of the folks that were mistreated. I immigrated here from Europe on Dec 16, 1962, 49 years ago and never regretted it - I never took anyone's land (I don't even own any), nor did I participate in any 'holocaust' either in my native Germany, or here - so, save me your guilt trip! I do believe that if anyone is a racist, it's probably you.

[danny saunders]

02:05 PM on 11/24/2011

Dear Gawd I want to say a hearty Thank you for garbage dumps all over the world just so the poorest of the poor will have a place to live and eat and clothe themselves. All because you are so generous and personally a loving Gawd. Amen.

[WESmith]

04:40 PM on 11/24/2011

If one knows that there are garbage dumps with poor living in them and does nothing to alleviate the situation and then blames an invisible force for that situaton...

[danny saunders]

09:54 PM on 11/24/2011

I didn't blame the invisible force. I thanked it.

[Answerman ny]

10:27 PM on 11/24/2011

You can thank men like you for that.

[danny saunders]

11:43 PM on 11/24/2011

What do you mean men like me?

[straight32]

12:42 PM on 11/24/2011

If you love Turkey so much then why do you it?

Happy Thanksgiving

[straight32]

01:19 PM on 11/24/2011

Should read instead: If you love Turkey so much then why do you eat it?

Happy Thanksgiving

[juna]

10:52 AM on 11/24/2011

How about a secular day of gratitude. You don't need to believe in a personal god to lead a good and kind life.

[WESmith]

04:44 PM on 11/24/2011

Who said thanksgiving was strictly a religious holiday? Does it take a god for someone to be thankful to someone or for something? Let each do it in their own way. It is a healthy exercise. Even the Bible states that one doesn't need a god to lead a good and kind life or even receive blessing.

[bob riversmith]

10:22 AM on 11/28/2011

"Who said thanksgivi­ng was strictly a religious holiday?"

The great turkey sacrifice?

[Answerman ny]

10:25 PM on 11/24/2011

Nobody said you did need to but please don't fault people for having a faith and expressing gratitude on the day which has been traditionally used to express that gratitude.

[merlinspinoza]

06:28 PM on 11/23/2011

it s, bring a meal to american indian country, day

pick up some good will 'cause 2012 is the big .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cylfQtkDg

[danny saunders]

05:13 PM on 11/23/2011

Dear Gawd, thank you for not letting me be born a pilgrim. Amen!

[WESmith]

04:51 PM on 11/24/2011

We should all be pilgrims (Definition of PILGRIM. 1: one who journeys in foreign lands : wayfarer) and travel into foreign lands (areas) and try to make a difference. It gets too comfy always being at home; on the receiving end. We lose sight of the real world.

[tammyb1516]

11:57 PM on 11/24/2011

What? To comfy-meaning we live in more peaceful hite countries, or did before the elites descided we need "devirsity" I once watched a clip from Africa where potaetoe thevies were burned alive. I think they can keep their "real world" Why is it whites are not living in the "real world" just because we are less violent, less perverse, origionaly before the elite took over. "Keep your foul barbaric "real world" I'm just trying to hold on to European civilization while I can. We are a proud, giving and inventive race, one of the finest on the earth I do think.

[danny saunders]

12:11 AM on 11/25/2011

"(usu. Pilgrim) a member of a group of English Puritans fleeing religious persecution who sailed in the Mayflower and founded the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620."

"PILGRIM. 1: one who journeys in foreign lands : wayfarer) and travel into foreign lands meeting exciting interesting people & kills them because they're different (areas) and try to make a difference­ through murder & thievery. It's the pilgrims way. It's become the American way.

[Answerman ny]

10:26 PM on 11/24/2011

Dear God,
Thank you for seeing to it that there were pilgrims and for seeing to it that Danny was not one of them.
Amen.

[the griff]

05:08 PM on 11/23/2011

I would wager that 90% of all Americans under age 30 could not even tell you what Thanksgiving is about!

[gemmax]

08:25 PM on 11/23/2011

I hope that that is not true. I know that my family all know but perhaps that is because of our traditions. Have a Great Day!

[the griff]

12:21 AM on 11/24/2011

Thanks! You and your family too.

[Mr Anonymous]

08:40 PM on 11/23/2011

You mean being thankful that the Native Americans, who they later killed off, saved their sorry selves from starving to death?

[the griff]

12:21 AM on 11/24/2011

Yeah and thats so sad.

[straight32]

12:36 PM on 11/24/2011

In war not genocide

[Bill J4321]

03:29 PM on 11/23/2011

Dear God,

Please do not allow my family to degrade and dehumanize me at the Thanksgiving table because you saw fit to make me a gay human.

Thanks so much. Love ya.

[nightingale23ks]

03:50 PM on 11/23/2011

Bill-have a great one anyway. Sometimes the real turkeys come out on Thanksgiving and we just have to grin and bear it. Best of luck to you

[gemmax]

08:22 PM on 11/23/2011

Have a very a Happy Thanksgiving, full of love and promise.