THANKSGIVING: Let me try and explain.
Thanksgiving is a mystery amongst most English-folk. All we see are some strange, turkey themed accessories pop up in shops and occasionally, if Godolphin is feeling funky, a little stuffing will be added to the menu. But no one really seems to know what it is or what it’s about.
I- as an American- am going to attempt to explain.
What is this strange Christmas without presents? Frankly, as the celebrators of Guy Fawkes day, I do not feel the British have any grounds to make judgements on strange holidays. You explain to me why fireworks ruin my sleep schedule all November because some dude tried to blow up parliament a while ago. Anyhow, I do understand why Thanksgiving, particularly the history behind it, is confusing. So for the good of the people I have taken it upon myself to do a little research and have come away, in fact, more confused.
Basically, Americans flock together on the last Thursday of November( idk why Thursdays don’t ask) to give thanks, catch up with family and eat an unholy amount of food - because… America. There’s also this big parade in New York in which enormous floats and inflatable cartoon characters get dragged down the street by thousands of tired, presumably strong people – and for some reason a bunch of American football games happen. On the surface, nothing about this seems too bad apart from agonizing conversations on ‘how school’s going” and pretending you like turkey (there’s a reason one only eats it once a year). However, the holiday is actually extremely controversial. So much so that some people have stopped celebrating it altogether. This is due to the many varying stories of its origin.
Americans like to pretend Thanksgiving is a celebration of when the Pilgrims (English Settlers) had a peaceful feast in 1621 (exactl
y 400 years ago) with a Native American tribe called the ‘Wampanoags’ after they taught them how to live in this ‘New World’. For some reason the Pilgrims didn’t know how to fish, because apparently they didn’t think that was a skill they would need to not starve, and were roughing it until the ‘Wampanoags’ came and taught them how to and gave them turkey? It’s all very wholesome and kids dress up (probably not appropriately) as pilgrims and native Americans every year to celebrate this meal.
The reality of the first Thanksgiving, though, is far from this cookie-cutter tale. Whilst there are records of a harvest meal in 1621, there is no evidence there was any turkey and no evidence that the Native Americans were actually there, or invited. Many different historians speculate about when the first thanksgiving actually was and why but nothing is really for certain. What IS for certain though, is that these pilgrims (my ancestors- hooray) did go on to slaughter Native Americans almost immediately after.
It only became a national holiday under Abraham Lincoln, more than two hundred years later, but is now celebrated every year in the name of “breaking bread and giving thanks” (which is where it’s incredibly unimaginative name comes from).
If you want to know more about the different theories on the origin of thanksgiving, check out this article:
https://time.com/4577425/thanksgiving-2016-true-story/
So, yeah, Turkey day is a little questionable. It should not come as a shock to you that many indiginous people are not the biggest fans of this holiday! Generally, I too prefer my mash potatoes without an underlying taste of genocide. It is important to recognise that the massacre of native americans was an atrocious chapter in human history that should definitely not be ignored when discussing Thanksgiving However, I don’t think the whole tradition should be discarded. I think the holiday is okay, as long as you don’t pretend it’s about how lovely things were between Pilgrims and Native Americans. There are some great things about Thanksgiving!
Example 1: Turkey Pardoning- Each year, one turkey (originally doomed to be a thanksgiving meal) is “pardoned” by the President and set free.
Example 2: It’s a chance to see all your family and friends, eat a lot and have a party without all the present stress of Christmas
Example 3: It’s the longest national holiday for Americans.
Moreover, Thanksgiving has undoubtedly provided us some of the best TV episodes of all time. For reference, see: ‘The one with all the thanksgivings’ from Friends and THAT Gossip Girl episode where ‘Whatcha Say’ plays. I will die on this hill. Being thankful and spending time with family is okay too, but seriously go watch Gossip Girl S3 Ep11 now.
Well, there you have it. To all you Brits, I hope this has cleared some things up. Happy Stuffing Eating! It’s also officially socially acceptable to listen to Christmas songs afterwards so happy MariahCarey-ing
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