I was chatting with someone at work the other day and they wanted to put up Thanksgiving decorations for our American cousins to make them feel at home.The consensus was that we shouldn’t bother with that because Thanksgiving is an American holiday and we’re not American.True, but I think we missed the point. Thanksgiving should be observed everywhere.I believe that Bermuda should fully embrace this holiday and make it one of our own. Here’s why:1. We have a lot for which we ought to give thanks. Bermuda is a blessed Country.Folks, we are just a little dot on the map, stuck out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, vulnerable, with help at least three hours away.I remember Hurricane Hugo and other massive storms which passed Bermuda and avoided us but still caused major damage simply by wind, rain, surf surge, etc.Yet time and time again, year after year, we are spared the kind of tragedy that Hurricane Sandy recently levied upon the US East Coast.My heart goes out to the victims. Such disasters are just so sad. We should pray for those people whilst giving thanks that it did not happen to us.We have taken for granted many times that a hurricane will pass us.2. Then there’s the recession. Yes, many people are out of work and unemployed or laid off, but our situation isn’t as bad as some of the other predicaments in which people in some other countries find themselves.Has anyone seen the news lately, with the war between families, cousins, relatives, in the Gaza conflict?These families and friends have been fighting for thousands of years, with no apparent end in view for this senseless and age-old problem, disagreement and war.Bermuda has no such disagreement with a neighbour or any other nation or group of people.Some of this is because of our remote location but still, we ought to give thanks that we have no conflict and are not at war or at odds with any other country because let’s be real we are pretty much powerless and defenceless; stuck out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea.3. Even if the Americans started the holiday, the concept of thanks giving, or giving thanks, fits with my life ethos, my values, the things for which I stand and the things for which, I submit, most right-thinking people also stand.The basic principle is the bringing together of family and friends to have food, fun and fellowship.This is consistent with what Bermudians and people of most nations generally like to do to keep family close and to retain family traditions.Speaking of friends and family, my church, Marsden First United Methodist Church, had a friends and family service last Sunday wherein a speech was given reflecting on family traditions.We have to keep Bermuda traditions and individual family traditions alive.We fail to do this to our peril because a person without knowledge of their history and family traditions is like a tree without roots; doomed to fall and/or die.4. It is right and a good thing always and often to give thanks. I have found in my 48 years that the more I give thanks, give God the props, the honour, glory and praise, the more he keeps blessing me.The Bible teaches us that we should in all things give thanks, even when we think all is lost.No matter what happens to us always remember that God is in control. He knows the number of hairs on our heads.He designed and predetermined everything; things that are yet to happen.These are just a few reasons why Bermuda should make thanksgiving a holiday and a day on which all people should give thanks for their many blessings. Peace, DJLT.