In Defense of Thanksgiving

I never really thought Thanksgiving needed support. I never thought it needed advocacy, but an old (not old, but one I have had a long time, you know) friend recently told me they did not really care for Thanksgiving. Now I admit Thanksgiving has some issues. It is a perfectly designed four day holiday, yet the main event is right at the beginning. So there is no leisurely build-up, no Thanksgiving Eve to build the crescendo and the spirit. And then there is the question of what to do with the rest of the weekend? The travel is difficult unless you do not have to and family is a mainstay of the tradition.

And Thanksgiving's main competition is Christmas. Now Christmas doesn't have four days specifically designated for it, but the Birth of the Son of God kind of trumps some funny looking people (the Pilgrims - come on, who designed those outfits?) having a dinner with the natives of Massachusetts. Please do not mistake me, I love Massachusetts and have had myself some great dinner with Massachusetteans. But none that were worthy of a naming a holiday after. And, honestly, what young person doesn't have their Jesus identification fantasy? Now, admittedly, mine came late, in college, and whil3 many thought the hair was just about right, I was a Jesus with too large an appetite and too much time in the weight room. Of course, I may have been having a Mac Wilkins in Montreal period. (He took the Gold. Might that be holiday worthy?)

So why should we care about Thankgiving? There is no Messiah, unless you had a few too many spiked ciders and the turkey carcass starts talking to you. The timing is tricky and, often, forces evil travel options. Turkey is a cursed poultry ever since it got dissed as the Nation's bird, in spite of Ben Franklin's efforts. After the let down, it all dried out. I am not sure  if the Bald Eagle tastes any better. And there is family, usually lots...

But Thanksgiving is very uncontrived. We humans have been celebrating the harvest and abundance since before we started harvesting. We did this in part because there was limited means of storage and it was a great excuse for a party. Though there are hard times for all of us always, it is natural to acknowledge our good fortune when things are flush. The story about the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims (the First Thanksgiving) may have bits of fiction and fact, but all people everywhere have celebrated their excesses and good fortune. Also, gratitude, that attitude of gratefulness, adds a remarkable richness to my peception of the human experience.

One interesting reflection I had on this was after attending a workshop by a Mohawk man named Jake Swamp in 1995. Jake began with the usual introductory words all Iroquois people use to begin their meetings. Not surprisingly, they refer to this "talk" as Words That Come Before All Else (Ohenten Karihwatehkwen). But this talk has become known as The Thanksgiving Address. It seems they use these words evoking this gratitude to join themselves together with a common appreciation of the value of their world, whether their meeting is to celebrate, to mourn, or to negotiate.

So perhaps Thanksgiving is a bogus holiday. Perhaps we all might spend a few more moments each and everyday in acknowledgment of what we have and its meaning to us. Perhaps we might slow ourselves and see what is really most important to us: our dear loved ones - family and friends, our furry ones, our places, our homes, our helpers, our lands, our ancestors, and our world. Perhaps, but for me, I really like the gravy.