HH, SIr Godfrey Gregg D.Div

The person who feels thankful feels pleased with something or relieved that something untoward did not occur.  Thanks are given as an automatic part of the polite culture and verbally recognizing that someone has been helpful or kind.   Giving thanks or expressing thankfulness is part of polite etiquette in most cultures.  Thank you is an automatic response for acts of kindness, helpfulness and generally the polite thing to say if someone helps you.

How is being thankful expressed?

• A thankful person expresses thanks by saying ‘thank you” after the act of kindness or helpfulness.  The act of giving and receiving normally follows with a simple ‘thank you.’
• Words of thanks can be expressed on a card or a written note.  The words and why the thanks were given are usually part of the thank you message.   Once again it is the wording connected to the thankful expression that is important.
• A kind favour may be reciprocated with a thank you gift with kind words written on the gift to convey thanks.  The thank-you gift is symbolic of the expression of thanks.  It is simply a gift and not an act of gratitude.  A thank you speech may be made on a formal occasion, like an awards dinner or a special birthday.  A formal event, when people are thanked in public for their contribution to society or to a family, would qualify for a thank you speech.