THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
It is that time of the year when we prepare to enter the Christmas season. Before entering that season, the U.S.A. celebrates “Thanksgiving Day”, many other countries unofficially celebrate it as well.
For those of us who are not American but acknowledge the holiday, it is supposed to be a day to reflect on what we have and be grateful for it. A day to behave decently with each other and come together to share a meal. A day where we live the life we are supposed to live, living together in harmony.
THE HOLIDAY
Thanksgiving is the holiday that commemorates the Native Americans and the Pilgrims having a meal together in harmony giving thanks to the harvest they obtained from which they were able to prepare meals and eat together. It was an important moment of peace.
The holiday has become a commercialized social gathering with a lot of food on the table. There used to be a ritual of taking a moment to meditate and give thanks to the highest force. Even that is not practiced anymore as people are only focused on the feast which usually includes a whole cooked turkey.
Some countries have even copied the holiday similarly to how “Halloween” has been copied with the main purpose of making monetary gain, not to understand the meaning of the holiday.
THE HISTORY
Going back in history the origins of “Thanksgiving Day” are not as what they are presented in history books: “a joyful celebration“. The holiday meaning went through several changes. It may have started in one state as indeed a joyful event but shortly after that celebration, the holiday became bloodstained because of the greed of men.
Later it became a celebration of the defeat of the Native American tribes who were living on the lands. Rather than live in harmony with the tribes they took over their lands. Those who didn’t accept the religion of the English men were killed or sold as slaves. Yet, this dark history is not taught in schools or not even discussed in the mainstream media. It is as if it never happened.
However, the descendants still remember and it is a day of mourning for them. As an outsider, knowing how history is written by the winning side, I know that there are always two sides to the story. It’s how Columbus is a hero in North America and a villain in the Caribbean region. And in any case, history is a tale based on something that occurred but what has occurred will always be completely different from what was written.
Being aware that it has the dual meaning of Thanksgiving, a joyful day and a horrific day does not take away from those who want to celebrate the harvest and have a meal together in harmony or commemorate the date that many have lost their lives.
I chose to believe that most Americans celebrate the first Thanksgiving, the joyful day of coming together not the day they defeat the natives. But I also believe it is important to know how the joyful day became a horrific day. It is a reminder to be vigilant to those around you who are jealous of you and are ready to betray you for personal gain (these days it’s to gain clout that will eventually lead to monetary gain).
On a larger scale, it is also a cautionary tale to monitor those at the highest positions in the government who are supposed to be working for the people and keep healthy international relations. These days they don’t seem to be working for the people, are not scared of losing their positions, and seem to have no intention in keeping healthy international relations. They make living in harmony very difficult.
Maybe the first Thanksgiving day could have remained joyful if there wasn’t jealousy and greed among the pilgrims and the natives. After the peaceful meal somehow a small group of men managed to plant the seed of doubt on both sides resulting in a blood bath.
These days it is important to pay attention to our environment and those around us that have a negative impact on our lives. There will always be people who don’t want you to succeed and will go to extremes sometimes to prevent your success.
The first Thanksgiving was a great accomplishment that some people back then wanted destroyed and they did destroy it but managed to cover it up. The full history of thanksgiving is meaningful for us to understand that peace is possible but it has to be protected.
MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES
We are supposed to be wiser than those pilgrims but we are making the same mistakes with the Ukraine/Russia conflict. There was a peace agreement that was ignored so all this could have been prevented. This was despite the killing of Russians living in Ukraine by Nazis and NATO’s continuing activities on the border with Russia.
They poked the bear so much that it reacted harshly. As a result, healthy men with no training background were forced to join the army led by the Azov battalion most of which have died. Billions of dollars have been sent to Ukraine but we don’t see how they spend that money.
It was requested/demanded of people, especially those working in multinational corporations all over the world, to say or demonstrate that they symbolically stand with Ukraine when in actuality it didn’t do anything to solve the situation and it also showed the discrimination against the many countries that have been at war in the last 2 decades.
Even though it has created many problems the internet so far has been an important tool we have to warn each other and possibly prevent World War 3. We don’t know for how long we will be able to use it before it gets extra regulated and monitored. Maybe someone will create another tool of communication.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We need to expand our knowledge of history in order to improve ourselves and try our best not to make the same mistakes of the past. All holidays have their significant meaning like the Allhallowtide and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday to reflect on everything we were able to accomplish and give thanks to whichever god you believe in that you are still alive and well today.
Now do I think a Thanksgiving holiday is necessary? Yes, the concept of being grateful for what you have is good. But I believe, like with Valentine’s Day, it should be a whole year celebration not focusing on the commercial side but on the human/spiritual side.
We should be grateful every day that we are alive and able to be with our family & friends and able to live our life. It shouldn’t be a one-day celebration but it should be part of our daily routine to give thanks for what we have accomplished.
Thank You for taking the time to read this article!
What does Thanksgiving mean for you?
How do you give thanks on Thanksgiving day?
Feel free to comment in the comment section below. I would love to hear from you.
