Hansel Monday is the older Scottish version of England's Boxing Day. But I came across this poem by William Seath, large chunks of which seemed just as suitable for a Thanksgiving celebration. Hope you enjoy it.
The Villager's Hansel Monday [excerpt]
"Dreary is the forest moaning
Neath dark Winter's angry blast,
But our festive board is groaning
With its load of rich repast.
Here now welcome friends surround us
Laughing gaily, chatting free;
Happy bairnies play around us
Dancing in their childish glee.
Away dull Care and gloomy Sadness
From the happy social throng;
Let us all amid our gladness,
Trip the dance and raise the song.
"Let us drink in boundless measure
From the bowl of pure Delight;
Let the lamp of sinless Pleasure
Light the gloom of Sorrow's night;
Tighten up the bands that bind us
To our friends while we are here,
For to-morrow's sun may find us
Slumb'ring on the silent bier.
Away dull Care and gloomy Sadness
From the happy, social throng
Let us all, amid our gladness,
Trip the dance and raise the song."
from Rhymes and Lyrics, by William Seath, 1897.
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