Church of No, Thanks Celebrating Personal Liberty since 2008

No-Thanks Giving - The Highest of High Holy Days of The Church of No-Thanks.

In 2009, No-Thanks Giving runs from 05/26/09 through 05/30/09. Officially, No-Thanks Giving runs as described below. You may have your own ideas.

No-Thanks Giving is a Festival of the expression of Personal Choice and the denial of Peer Pressure, and runs from 180 days after the previous Thanksgiving (in the United States) to 180 days before the next Thanksgiving.

No-Thanks Giving encourages members to recognize Personal Choice as the vehicle for Personal Betterment, and the employment of Personal Values to determine what Personal Betterment means to them. While No-Thanks Giving *does* involve ritual, it is done primarily to embolden members to express their own opinions and choices outside the context of the ritual.

Observance of No-Thanks Giving - For the duration of NTG, Member picks one thing he/she normally feels pressured to do against his/her judgment or will, and refuses to submit, with a polite, "No, Thanks."

On the evening of May 25, or the closest evening of No-Thanks Giving to May 25, Members are to view the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. At each appearance of a scene not present in the original 1977 theatrical release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, members are encouraged to call out "No-Thanks". Viewings can be done individually, in small family/friend groups or in Meeting Houses.

On years when No-Thanks Giving includes a Meeting Day (Saturday) the traditional No-Thanks Giving Cookout will occur. On years where No-Thanks Giving does not include a Saturday, the Cookout will be held on the last day of No-Thanks Giving. Like the ritual viewing of the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the Cookout can be held individually, in small groups or by a Meeting House.

On the last day of NTG: viewing of "Forbidden Kingdom" ("simply put, Jet Li is a clone." -- Edmund)

How will you be spending No-Thanks Giving this year?