It’s that time again. Lest we forget the holidays, TV reminds us. Already round-the-clock Christmas movies are broadcast. So it was that I recently honored Halloween by seeing “Addams Family Values.” There is a delightful send up of all the awful, unhistorical, overly sentimental, school productions of “the first thanksgiving.” Never mind that it wasn’t nearly the first thanksgiving day by European settlers on this continent. Never mind that our current celebration has wandered away from what was originally a harvest festival with gratitude to God because it looked like enough food was stored in for the winter. Many years in agrarian societies that is not a given.
The Official Thanksgiving Holiday
When President Abraham Lincoln, in the middle of the Civil War, proclaimed November 26, 1863 a federal holiday and unified the date of the celebration, he did so largely because of Sarah Josepha Hale who argued for a unified date during a period of military and political disunity. In our day the holiday has become an occasion for food, family, and football. Recently, we’ve added an economic aspect with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For college students and faculty it has become the last short breather before finals.
Your Thanksgiving
May your Thanksgiving honor one or more of these important themes. The rancorous presidential election will be behind us. It might be good to re-unify, even with that annoying, politically wrong, uncle. Connect with your human family be it blood relatives, extended kin and in-laws, or other families of friends and associates. Think and speak gratitude to those who have enriched you. Indulge some delicious pleasure. It’s healthful to splurge once in awhile. Enjoy shopping amid the roiling crowd or at home in some cyber-boutique. Breathe, rest, and ready yourself for the sprint to the finish of finals week. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!