Happy Stranger Day

Have you ever thought Thanksgiving was a wasted holiday? Before you call me a holiday heretic, think about all of its shortcomings.It’s way too close to Christmas, which means two hearty meals within one month and little hope of wearing your pleather skinnies in between. Plane ticket costs are astronomical and so are the expectations that you will foot the bill to come home, if not this year then next year, because you are on a two-year rotation after your parents’ divorce. And whether you stay local or travel far, the day is too often characterized by a thin gratitude for comfort. Celebrating good food, good friends, and, fingers crossed, a good football game isn’t all that distinctive for many of us.I want to celebrate something stranger.There are national holidays in the U.S. for mothers and fathers, for bosses and administrative professionals, for veterans and nurses and even library workers — but there is no holiday that celebrates the stranger. This is a real loss seeing as how the stranger is a pivotal figure in most religious traditions.You can find me – and the rest of this article – at On Faith:http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2015/11/25/transforming-thanksgiving-into-stranger-day/38087