Thanksgiving Day is more than a day to have a family feast. It’s also a day to remember the past and to be thankful for what we have. In the Bible there is the story of ten lepers cured by Jesus. Only one came back to thank him. Like those lepers most of us don’t give thanks often enough. We do not express how lucky we are to have family gatherings and food on the table. We forget that it was an old European tradition to have a Harvest Festival and that it was also celebrated in Canada and by the Native Americans. In other words people have, for centuries thanked their God or Gods for the harvest. Today when most of us buy our food from a convenience store that tradition is not recognised. On Thanksgiving Day though maybe we should go back to our roots and in the words of an old grace express thanks for what we are about to receive

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Children’s Day is a day to call “Stop!”The charter on the rights of the child has been ratified in almost 200 countries worldwide. That does not mean, though, that children have their rights in all of these countries. It is merely an aspiration and on Universal children’s day it is worth remembering those children who suffer are not always in faraway places or third world countries. To our shame children are abused both by their parents and by their governments in many so called civilised societies. It may be from lack of resources but it is also from lack of public knowledge. Most people are too busy rearing their own children to bother about the less fortunate. Children’s Day is a day to call attention to the needs of such children. As we thank God for our own children and what they mean to us let us think of others less fortunate. Let’s get the message out to all right thinking people that it is up to them to put pressure on their governments to ensure that those rights are protected. Children cannot, after all, speak for themselves.

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Christmas is coming and so too are the office parties. It’s the ideal opportunity to thank and motivate staff, especially in these recessionary times. Many companies are having less extravagant parties this year but that doesn’t mean that your speech should not impress your staff and give them that feel good factor. After all without them you wouldn’t be in business. So speak of the achievements the company has made during the year, even if it is just the fact that you have managed to stay in business against the odds. Speak too of the challenges ahead and of your confidence in them. The office party is, above all, a social occasion so make some light-hearted references to what the office party usually means win terms of glamour and glitz. End with a toast to that happiest of seasons, Christmas.

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Universal Children’s Day is a day when we need to talk about childrenUniversal Children’s Day is a day when we need to talk about children and their rights. It’s a day when we should express what they mean to us. After all they are the future of our world. It’s a day when we should think about the inequalities between the children who have much and those who have nothing. It’s a time for examining our attitudes towards children who are suffering. It’s a time to right the wrongs that are so prevalent in so many places around the world. It’s also a time for looking at the problems of children in our own home countries. Have we enough social workers? Are there proper facilities for children who are in danger at home? What do we actually do for young offenders? How much support do we give the family unit? How long must children suffer before action is taken to improve their lot? All over the world there are children in slave labour, dying of poverty and disease and being hurt at home. We need better laws, more protection for them. We need to uphold their rights. Universal Children’s Day is a day when all right thinking adults should give consideration to children and what we should do for them. and their rights. It’s a day when we should express what they mean to us. After all they are the future of our world. It’s a day when we should think about the inequalities between the children who have much and those who have nothing. It’s a time for examining our attitudes towards children who are suffering. It’s a time to right the wrongs that are so prevalent in so many places around the world. It’s also a time for looking at the problems of children in our own home countries… Have we enough social workers? Are there proper facilities for children who are in danger at home? What do we actually do for young offenders? How much support do we give the family unit? How long must children suffer before action is taken to improve their lot? All over the world there are children in slave labour, dying of poverty and disease and being hurt at home. We need better laws, more protection for them. We need to uphold their rights. Universal Children’s Day is a day when all right thinking adults should give consideration to children and what we should do for them. They are, after all, our greatest blessing. We should celebrate that fact.

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It’s got different names but whether you call it Veteran’s Day, Armistice Day or Remembrance Day doesn’t really matter. You are celebrating the same thing. The world celebrate may seem odd in the context of so many dead or disfigured in war. What you are celebrating though is courage and the will to win against huge odds. What you are celebrating is love of country. Patriotism may seem like an old fashioned word but it is a word that never goes out of fashion. We always admire those who fight for a just cause. War is always horrible and the sufferings intense. It is never something to glorify. What we should glorify though is those who suffered yet still fought on. What we should glorify is those who gave their lives for freedom and democracy and to protect their own. So whether we too are in the military or not on November the 11th we salute our fallen dead.

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Veterans’ Day is a day for flags at half mast and soldiers marching. It is a day when we remember those who died for their countries. It is a day when we remember the atrocities of war, the sheer misery it entailed. It should be a day for pledging that it will never happen again. Most of those who celebrate Veteran’s Day though will have no control over that. They will simply be remembering. After all it is governments who decide to go to war. It is they who give the orders sending you men and woman out to be killed or maimed. Sometimes, of course, t hey have no choice. If their country is invaded they must protect its citizens. If democracy is in peril it must also be protected. Surely, though, there is a better way? Surely we should lead by example and make our own countries so wonderful that everyone would want theirs to be the same. Surely we should learn more about other cultures, other beliefs. It is in understanding that peace will come. Tyrants must be ousted of course and sometimes it is necessary to take up arms. Hopefully though we will learn as we remember the anguish caused by battle. As we celebrate Veterans’ Day we celebrate the ending of war and the courage of those who fought.

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Veterans’ Day is about the sound of silence. It’s about wreath laying and remembrance. It’s a day to be thankful for what others have done for us. We only have to look at the news to see what it is like in countries without democracy. People are shot in the streets. They are tortured in jails and they sometimes disappear altogether. That could have been our fate too. It is no wonder we celebrated Armistice Day when the peace treaty was signed at the ending of the First World War. Since then, of course, we have had another World War and even more reason to remember those who fought for us. The war on terrorism continues even today. There are troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Flags flying at half mast remind us how much we owe to so many. It’s about wreath laying and remembrance. It’s a day to be thankful for what others have done for us. We only have to look at the news to see what it is like in countries without democracy. People are shot in the streets. They are tortured in jails and they sometimes disappear altogether. That could have been our fate too. It is no wonder we celebrated Armistice Day when the peace treaty was signed at the ending of the First World War. Since then, of course, we have had another World War and even more reason to remember those who fought for us. The war on terrorism continues even today. There are troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Flags flying at half mast remind us how much we owe to so many.

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Children’s Day is the day when we show the importance of children in our lives. Whether we call it Universal Children’s Day or simply Children’s Day it means the same thing. It doesn’t matter either when we celebrate it as long as we do. Children’s Day is a day when we give thanks for our own children and what they mean to us. It’s a day when we remember that not all children live in good homes. It’s a time to make the point that it is up to us to do something to stop child labour and all the horrors of child abuse. Whatever their size, gender, colour or creed children are all unique and wonderful. They are our future and whether we live in Canada, the States or in India or Africa they deserve the best we can give them. So on Children’s Day get the message across that those children are our future. Let’s cherish them.

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Remember Memorial Day. That’s good advice for all of us. After all our past has made us what we are today. Those who died did so in order that we can live as we do now. That is not to say that some of us are not in dire straits financially just now. It is merely to show us that we have been given the opportunity to live in freedom and democracy, a privilege that has not been granted to millions all over the world. So on that day let us forget our present troubles and think of what others endured for our sake. Let us remember them in speeches and ceremonies because they deserve to be remembered. They were ordinary people like us who did extraordinary things for us. They deserve to be commemorated they deserve to be remembered.

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It’s 9/11 now but the ceremonies will go on all weekend. If you want to speak you want your speech to be slightly different. You will, like everyone else, have to speak of the horrors of that dreadful day. You will speak of ongoing grief and bravery of the uniformed forces. You will mention the courage of those who suffer daily and the way people have managed to get on with their lives. Your speech, though, should also question values and a way of life that made other people from another culture do such a terrible thing. You will ask what could have been done to prevent the terror or what should be done to prevent it happening ever again. You will have to ask the hard question “Are we ourselves at fault?” It’s a question nobody seems to want to answer but it has to be asked and answered.

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