Janet, of the excellent blog The Art of Getting By, has a little thing she does called "Tell it to me Tuesday" wherein she asks a question and encourages folks to answer it on their blog and then link back to hers. This one is about your favorite national holiday.

I figured I'd chime in since I'll guest post over there once in the near future. I'd have to go with Thanksgiving. Why? Follow me.

First and foremost, Fall is my favorite time of year. Any holiday in the Fall is a bonus. The colors of the leaves, a nice snap in the air, the smell of bonfires all generate memories and emotions that warm me to the core. Awesome.

Then of course there's the food. My family puts on a ridiculous spread. And it's not just the traditional stuff though turkey, taters, and cranberry sauce are there. Living near the coast there's also a fair amount of seafood and wild game to be had. We put oysters in our stuffing. There's probably going to be venison and maybe swan or goose. Not to mention pumpkin and sweet potato pie. If made the way they should be, there's definitely a difference and I eat enough of each to make me sick.

It's such a great time to get together with family. There's no pressure gift-wise, although we do do some wrapping of presents. We talk into the small hours, paying cards and listening to Christmas music.

There's usually a lot of sleeping involved and I love me some sleep.

In seriousness though there's also the spiritual aspect of it which too often gets the short shrift. For me it really is a time to sit back and reflect on what I have to be thankful for. There's quite a lot these days. While both my family and my in-laws have had some rough bumps over the last year including losing a family member, most of us are still happy and relatively healthy. Even the harder parts can be cause for giving thanks, if you look at the growth that has come out of them and God's provision that brought us through them. We live in a country that I love warts and all. A place where you can say what you will and worship how you want.

So that's my favorite national holiday. What's yours?