thanksgiving is almost an ode to winter; its cranberries ever so reminiscent of mistletoe and holly berries. warm food with a forewarning of christmas ham or warm challah.
i've never been religious but there's something about thanksgiving and christmas that make me feel like there might be a God or something of the sort. after all, the world is full of the "might be"s so i wouldn't be surprised.
there is something so sacred about family coming to see you over the holidays.
i almost worship it.
november is so haunting that way. you feel as if there is still a last leaf to fall but the clouds and cold beg to differ. they scoff at the dependence to warmth we still retain.
maybe, in retaining this dependence, the clouds fail to understand the way it is relished. they are so high up that they misinterpret “desire” and “dependence”.
if God is real, i feel as if God, being just that; godly, is only ever felt by me in the winter seasons because of warmth. God tends to be associated with warmth and light: good, which is always something i think about around the holidays.
good is something ingrained and etched into almost every child. something about virtuous actions, good, and this hope for warmth is reflected in our memories of holiday, we idolize warmth and goodness, and i cant help but think that God has something to do with that. just think about the attributes of christmas and other such winter holidays.
and back to that thing about thanksgiving and winter. today i went to my aunt's house like every time i've went for thanksgiving. but this time was different. the tree was already up, gloating its beautiful lights as it stood tall in the window.
maybe thanksgiving is not an ode to winter but a transition. that makes christmas the transition to the new year. infamously, i hate change- but maybe God loves it. so i suppose i will have to as well.
change is the catalyst to belief. maybe change is all i need during christmas, winter, thanksgiving, and for god. change is what makes me believe in god during thanksgiving because belief is changing.
thanksgiving makes me believe in God because reuniting with family is a miracle. thanksgiving is a miracle because it is a transition to winter. winter makes me feel as if i am blessed.
i love thanksgiving, it’s promise of change, and the attachment to God. perhaps change isn’t as bad as i’d made it out to be.
God is change, change is thanksgiving, thanksgiving is God.
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125,020 Literary Works • 672,738 Reviews
revised from thoughts strewn upon last resorts
OHHH EMMM GEEEE
This work is absolutely beautiful. The language and the themes. I am baffled. This gives me a nostalgic yet uncomfortable feeling. The only criticism is that the words seem to repeat the same ideas. I would suggest just going through and shortening the work or adding new ideas. Other than that, it immediately caught my attention from the start. Very amazing work!
Hmm. Very fitting for the current season. I like this!
It balances a very consuming nostalgia with this deeply introspective tone, and that's its strength. Thanksgiving, winter, and God get tied into a kind of spiritual trifecta, which is a different spin on holiday writing.
But, let’s talk about flow and structure. Right now, this feels like it’s circling itself. Your reflections on faith, warmth, and change are poignant, but they overlap too much. You’re reiterating the same thoughts in slightly different ways, which I believe dulls their impact. For example, the connection between change and belief is golden. Lean into that more deliberately instead of circling back to warmth every time. Alternatively, warmth can be created, so why not explore that angle in depth?
Your imagery is the star here, though. It’s evocative without being overdone. It complements the emotional core nicely; the family is the heart of this. You touch on it, but it feels like a surface-level mention compared to the metaphysical musings earlier on. What does family feel like in these moments? How does it anchor or complicate your belief in warmth, goodness, or God? I think that’s where this could go deeper. There are so many ways to explore familial dynamics.
Altogether, this is very visually rich and interesting! I enjoy the blend of personal revelations and then seasonal nostalgia. However, a firmer narrative arc could balance this out. It's all feeling. Tie the imagery and reflections together more purposefully to give it structure. Without that, it's a poetic ouroboros.
All the best!
thank you for the review! this definitely was new for me, i've never written longform to this extent. i agree that a lot of this is repeptitive. especially the warmth/God discussion. i shall think deeply about this review then rewrite.
thanks helvetia! (your username soundes like the font helvetica.)