The New York Times says this about the day after American Thanksgiving:
“OK. You’re back to work. The tryptophan has worn off. And the political world - unlike you, perhaps, or me - did nothing to unplug for the holiday. “
Tryptophan turns out to be “an essential amino acid that the body cannot produce, so must be obtained through food.”
Do you think the sweet potato marshmallow casserole was the key factor in the meal delivering all that tryptophan?
It made me wonder if Giving Tuesday started because of the Thanksgiving holiday madness. It started as a project of the 92nd Street Y in New York in 2012. It is now its own organization that promotes giving in communities, along with doing research on giving. In 2024, Giving Tuesday reached $3.6 billion - it doesn’t say what the scope is - perhaps worldwide. It is always 5 days after the Thanksgiving holiday. So I guess the sweet potato marshmallow casserole has a place in history, after all.
In the world giving index, the top country for generosity is Indonesia. The second is Ukraine. Kenya is third. Liberia is ranked fourth. Then U.S., Myanmar, Kuwait, Canada, Nigeria and New Zealand. The country that gives the least to charity is Japan. Also in the bottom rank are France and Germany. And the overall finding of the CAF’s World Giving Report is that Countries with more money are less generous. Doesn’t it lead to so many more questions? The CAF World Giving Report is HERE.
Daffodils have become iconic symbols of cancer fund-raising in Canada. Aren’t the little lit-up tips of the leaves so interesting.
