I'm from Canada, so Thanksgiving to me is just Thursday with

When Howie Mandel declares, “I’m from Canada, so Thanksgiving to me is just Thursday with more food. And I’m thankful for that,” his words, though spoken with humor, conceal a wisdom that has echoed through the ages. For in jest, he reminds us that the essence of Thanksgiving—and indeed of gratitude itself—does not lie in grand ceremonies, elaborate traditions, or the weight of history, but in the simple act of pausing to be thankful for what is before us. To him, it is not a day carved into stone but an ordinary Thursday, brightened by the abundance of food and the spirit of joy. In this, he teaches us that gratitude belongs not only to holy days and appointed feasts, but to the very rhythm of daily life.

The origin of his thought rests upon the difference between nations. In America, Thanksgiving stands as a towering festival, marked with parades, gatherings, and rituals that bind communities together. In Canada, it is celebrated earlier in the autumn and with less grandeur, and thus to Mandel, who lives often among Americans, the holiday can feel like just another day. Yet in his lighthearted remark, “Thursday with more food,” we see a truth: even when a day seems ordinary, even when it lacks pomp and spectacle, there is still cause for gratitude, still reason to rejoice in the abundance before us.

This echoes the ancient wisdom of the Stoic philosophers, who taught that happiness is not found in what is rare or elaborate, but in what is constant and near at hand. Epictetus once said that wealth is not having many possessions, but having the ability to be content with little. Mandel, with humor, embodies this teaching: he does not seek to elevate Thanksgiving into something unreachable, but rejoices that it brings “more food” to the table, and that alone is enough to inspire thankfulness.

Consider also the story of Diogenes the Cynic, who lived in simplicity, owning almost nothing. When he saw a child drink water from cupped hands, he cast away his own wooden bowl, saying, “The child has beaten me in simplicity.” Diogenes understood what Mandel’s words reflect—that joy and gratitude are not bound to excess or grandeur. Even a simple meal, even a Thursday without ceremony, can be a cause for celebration when received with the right heart.

Yet, beneath Mandel’s jest lies a deeper call: that gratitude should not be confined to the calendar. If one waits for special days to give thanks, then much of life will pass in ingratitude. But if every Thursday, every meal, every breath is an opportunity for thankfulness, then life itself becomes a continuous Thanksgiving. His humor, therefore, carries the weight of ancient truth: gratitude transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, the simple into the sacred.

The lesson, then, is clear: do not wait for festivals, for parades, for rituals to awaken your heart. Instead, cultivate thankfulness in the small and the everyday. Be like Mandel, who finds joy in a plate of food, or like the ancients, who found wisdom in the humble rhythms of life. Recognize that each day holds gifts, even if they are small, even if they seem ordinary.

Practical steps flow easily from this teaching. Each day, pause and name aloud one thing, however small, for which you are thankful. Share meals with joy, not complaint, seeing in them the abundance of life. Treat ordinary days as holy, and Thursdays as sacred feasts, not because they carry a title, but because they carry the gift of time, of sustenance, of being alive. In this way, gratitude will no longer be an annual duty, but a daily way of being.

Thus, the humor of Howie Mandel becomes wisdom: that life’s true celebration lies not in rare holidays, but in the steady practice of thankfulness. A Thursday with more food, received with a grateful heart, is as grand as any festival. And he teaches us that if we learn this truth, then every day can become a feast, and every breath a hymn of thanksgiving.