A small word of thanks

FOR most families, the thanks in Thanksgiving is implicit -- strongly felt but rarely articulated. In “The Thanksgiving Ceremony,” a pint-sized and elegant new volume punctuated with seasonal line drawings (Crown, $14.95), Edward Bleier brings thanks to the fore.

He creates what he calls a formal ceremony to be read aloud around the table by each diner in turn and together, giving thanks for food, for freedom and for friends. He respects the secular by limiting references to God and the Creator to quotes from, for instance, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.

And for those not into read-aloud ceremonies, the book also features a concise history of the holiday, including, of course, a description of probably the first Thanksgiving feast. The three-day affair began Dec. 13, 1621, when Capt. Miles Standish on behalf of the Pilgrims invited three Indian chiefs but was surprised by 90 uninvited Wampanoag relatives, who, unlike some bonus guests I could name, brought lots of provisions.

The book concludes with the thoughts, blessings and song lyrics from writers as diverse as Marcel Proust, Anne Frank and Woody Guthrie.