A Place for Elijah at Thanksgiving
When we host a Thanksgiving Day meal, we borrow a page from the Passover Dinner of Jewish tradition. We set a place for Elijah, usually at a separate table with chair. There are various Jewish traditions surrounding this place setting. In some cases it's an extra cup of wine, not consumed by any at the feast. Ours more closely follows this UUA sermon. http://www.uucpa.org/sermons_06/sermon060409.html And of course we do it at Thanksgiving, as well as Passover or other major feasts.
For me the extra place setting is to welcome ANYONE who comes to the door! To invite them in. To bring them to the table to fully join in our feast. And any who come to the door are invited to the main table, they do not take Elijah's place, as others may still join us. More chairs are found. More china is brought to the table. More flatware as well. All of the food remaining is offered. More can be prepared if needed (That's NEVER a problem at Thanksgiving!)
Has Elijah ever visited us? I have no idea. The most fun example of unexpected guests was an entire TV studio news crew joining us late one year in Norfolk. We were hosting at the church and one of our members was on that crew. The crew were a bit surprised when several of us jumped up to grab another table, chairs, etc. and began passing food. Elijah's place remained ready for more guests.
Every year I think about the traditional Thanksgiving story and what most of us seem to do today. In the traditional story everyone present in Plymouth Plantation, all those folks who'd left their families in England to sail to this new world held a harvest feast. They invited all the Native American's who'd helped them up to that point. Or perhaps the Native American's invited the new comers to join their celebration. Hard to tell at this point. At any rate, the story is told as a festival, a feast for those who were present, the neighborhood! Today most of us journey to friends or relatives homes, leaving our neighborhoods to go have a private feast.
After we moved back to Kansas in '99, we lived in the little community of Matfield Green. We arranged to use the old elementary school for Thanksgiving. I sent out letters to everyone in the zip code (it's a tiny town). That year 75 folks celebrated together. Some were relatives of residents, like my parents. But most were local residents. And yes we set a place for Elijah.
Unfortunately, we moved away from Matfield Green before the next T-day. We tried to do the same sort of thing using Camp Wood after that, but didn't get a similar response. Oh well, we tried. Now Chris has trouble standing long enough to host that kind of feast so we join friends and have our celebration.
If you're willing to allow ANYONE who shows up at your door to join your feast, set a table for Elijah. Maybe even put a sign on the door to welcome him, or any who wish to join you.
David Heinsohn
For me the extra place setting is to welcome ANYONE who comes to the door! To invite them in. To bring them to the table to fully join in our feast. And any who come to the door are invited to the main table, they do not take Elijah's place, as others may still join us. More chairs are found. More china is brought to the table. More flatware as well. All of the food remaining is offered. More can be prepared if needed (That's NEVER a problem at Thanksgiving!)
Has Elijah ever visited us? I have no idea. The most fun example of unexpected guests was an entire TV studio news crew joining us late one year in Norfolk. We were hosting at the church and one of our members was on that crew. The crew were a bit surprised when several of us jumped up to grab another table, chairs, etc. and began passing food. Elijah's place remained ready for more guests.
Every year I think about the traditional Thanksgiving story and what most of us seem to do today. In the traditional story everyone present in Plymouth Plantation, all those folks who'd left their families in England to sail to this new world held a harvest feast. They invited all the Native American's who'd helped them up to that point. Or perhaps the Native American's invited the new comers to join their celebration. Hard to tell at this point. At any rate, the story is told as a festival, a feast for those who were present, the neighborhood! Today most of us journey to friends or relatives homes, leaving our neighborhoods to go have a private feast.
After we moved back to Kansas in '99, we lived in the little community of Matfield Green. We arranged to use the old elementary school for Thanksgiving. I sent out letters to everyone in the zip code (it's a tiny town). That year 75 folks celebrated together. Some were relatives of residents, like my parents. But most were local residents. And yes we set a place for Elijah.
Unfortunately, we moved away from Matfield Green before the next T-day. We tried to do the same sort of thing using Camp Wood after that, but didn't get a similar response. Oh well, we tried. Now Chris has trouble standing long enough to host that kind of feast so we join friends and have our celebration.
If you're willing to allow ANYONE who shows up at your door to join your feast, set a table for Elijah. Maybe even put a sign on the door to welcome him, or any who wish to join you.
David Heinsohn