Thanksgiving is here, that time of year where we envision a scene reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting with family gathered around a table or TV and a scrumptious feast wafting into the air with a juicy turkey lovingly prepared hours before.
For those who remember their grade school days, the image of pilgrims sharing dinner with a tribe of natives was always painted in our minds and told that was the first Thanksgiving.
But honestly, somewhere through the generations, the true history behind Thanksgiving was lost and these images we have imbedded into our minds are quite a warped perception.
The truth is no one knows when the first Thanksgiving actually took place or where it first fell into practice.
Thanksgiving is a holiday practiced among European cultures long before the pilgrims ever stepped upon the shores of the new world.
In fact evidence shows that Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada and the shores of Florida by Spanish explorers in the 1500s.
The purpose of the holiday was for people to set aside one day of the year to reflect on their lives and be thankful for what they had, to count their blessings, thank the Lord for his endowments and thank family and friends for all their love and support.
It was also a day to humble oneself, to think of the unfortunate people of the world and was also a day to commit acts of service and charity to your fellow man.
The imagery of a feast derives from the fact that the Thanksgiving holiday usually fell around harvest time and so, it was a time to be thankful for a successful farming season and to thank the Lord and nature for all their support.
In the United States Thanksgiving became recognized as an annual American holiday in 1863, but the day on which it was recognized always changed based on households or government”s personal preference.
For a while, it fell on the last Thursday of November but was moved to the fourth Thursday for economic reasons in 1941.
By the 1960s it had lost its religious roots and its connection to charity and service; now, it is merely viewed as a commercial holiday in which government facilities can be closed for a day and the general public can indulge in gluttony without feeling guilty about it.
Oh, and how can we forget black Friday, the day after, where businesses lower prices substantially and people temporarily lose all their senses.
Isn”t it interesting how Thanksgiving began as a day to think and care for others, to share what one had with those who were not so fortunate and is now used to fuel a day in which people can become greedy, self-centered and cruel?
How did we transition so harshly? Food for thought ? pun intended.
When Michelle Berger is not writing, she”s usually re-enacting famous fight scenes from Kung-Fu flicks. Reach her at mberger_om@yahoo.com.
