Thanksgiving Day. It’s filled with traditions, and memories, and warm feelings, and perhaps most of all, aromas.
Experts say that our sense of smell is the sense most closely linked to memories.
For me, the scent of wood smoke brings to mind every camping trip I ever took in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The aroma of fresh-baked bread conjures up images of my maternal grandmother, opening the door to our house and hollering “Knock! Knock!” as she arrived on Saturday mornings laden with fresh bread and coffee cake. The smell of manure -while not a terribly pleasant scent – always makes me think of “the egg man”, an old farmer who delivered eggs to our house when I was a little girl. He’d come to the front door and stand just inside the threshold, in our tiny entryway, while my mother would go get money to pay him. I’d stand there, acting shy, just staring at him. When he left, the scent of the farm lingered there in our little living room.
One scent in particular reminds me of my dad. Many years after my dad passed away, I was at a fancy church dinner. Another member of our congregation came in a little late and as he swept into the room and sat down at my table, a certain aroma accompanied him. I sniffed the air and suddenly was filled with an utterly nostalgic emotion.
I said to him, a little embarrassed, “What is that smell?”
He looked at me with a sheepish expression on his whiskered face. “Sorry, I was in the garage working on a snowmobile.”
“Don't apologize. You smell just like my dad.”
He laughed. “It’s probably two-stroke engine oil you’re smelling. Did your dad work on motors and stuff?”
“All the time," I said. "I just never knew what that smell was until now. It’s nice.”
According to experts on the subject, smells and emotions are stored as one memory. They’re intrinsically linked. Scientists also believe that our sense of smell is the only one that is fully developed in the womb, and is dominant throughout our early childhood. Many Covid-19 victims are struggling with no sense of smell or taste, weeks or months after having the virus. Will their memories never again be summoned up by the familiar smells they’ve experienced in the past? Maybe losing one’s sense of smell doesn’t seem terrible to some, but it sounds tragic to me!
For Americans, the smells of Thanksgiving are certainly connected to fond memories. They’re part of who we are. I mean, who doesn’t like the smell of a piping hot, roasted turkey as it comes out of the oven? Pardon me, but I think even a vegan would have to admit that it smells pretty darn good. And then there’s the stuffing – or dressing if you prefer to call it that. Is there anything more heavenly than the scent of tender stuffing, infused with sage and rosemary and thyme and marjoram, baked in that beautiful bird’s breast cavity and then scooped out into your grandma’s fine china serving bowl? I’m drooling just thinking about it. On top of that, there’s the gravy, the mashed potatoes, the green bean casserole, and last-but-not-least, the pumpkin pie. It’s almost olfactory overload.
Aromas are linked to memories in such a way that when we get a whiff of certain things, we are often transported back to another time and place, or we're reminded of a particular person.
There’s an interesting parallel in the Bible which talks about how the followers of Jesus emit his aroma. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…” (II Cor. 5:14-15)
So, what does the aroma of Christ smell like?
I think it smells like love. Like compassion, and kindness, and justice, and goodness.
In the book of Ephesians, we are instructed to "walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Eph. 5:2)
If we know Christ, and we build a relationship with him, we will become more like him, taking on his attributes, and walking in the way of love. Just as aromas are tied to memories, his “aroma” of love will be linked to us. When people hang out with us, and get to know us, hopefully they will also catch a whiff of who He is.
(Just for fun, here's a photo of me, my mom, my grandma, and my aunt on Thanksgiving, 50 years ago!)
