As I talked to a friend of mine this past Thanksgiving Thursday, I jokingly wished her a “Happy We-stole-your-land-and-killed-your-people-day.” My sarcastic wish, stolen from a movie, began a dialogue on what Thanksgiving Day has become for the modern world. As we discussed the religious origins related to Christianity as well as the Jewish celebration of Sukkot, we began to wonder what we should really be doing on Thanksgiving Day.
By the end of our dialogue, we came to the decision that Thanksgiving had become a day focused on eating a lot of food and watching sports. As I traveled to my aunt’s house I felt a little bothered by this realization — surely there’s more to the day than the Lions, Cowboys and turkey.
Recently, Eva LaPlante wrote an editorial piece for the Boston Globe about the nature of Thanksgiving. In her piece she made the point that Thanksgiving should be spent as a day of repentance. While her point focused on religious repentance it allowed for an inference to be made that Thanksgiving should be a time of thankfulness for what we have and repentance for the wrongs we have committed.
In many ways I have to agree with LaPlante. So often we steer into the self-centered American stereotype and rarely spend our holidays for what they are designated for. Speaking for myself, but I rarely take time out on Veteran’s Day to think about the sacrifices they’ve made. Usually I spend the Fourth of July sleeping and finally having a semi-legal excuse to light fireworks, not spending time reflecting on our independence.
Despite my Irish heritage, I certainly don’t spend St. Patrick’s Day remembering the good St. Patrick and how he drove snakes out of Ireland. Perhaps a day of genuine appreciation for the comfortable lives we are offered and repentance for the many people we all have wronged would be in order.
Unfortunately, as I write it’s now “Black Friday” and thus too late for me to make wishes about how I will make Thanksgiving different this year. Being a die-hard Packers fan, I spent my Thanksgiving watching Brett Favre and company triumph over Detroit and then fell asleep to the Cowboys destruction of the Jets. Despite the fact that I enjoyed my Thanksgiving Day I feel guilty — like another conceited American who spent my five day weekend thinking only of myself.
I will however make my dramatic wishes for the upcoming holiday season. Right now we have Hanukkah, Eid, Christmas and Kwanzaa quickly approaching. As the semester ends and a brief break begins, I want to make sure I take time to be thankful for all that I have. This time of year it is nearly impossible not to hear the terms peace on Earth, goodwill to men, and other wishes of charity.
I hope that you’ll join me in making a resolution to change our habit of ignoring the things we are celebrating. Imagine the place that this will be with one month of peace and goodwill. Start it.
Will you take time to think about what holidays mean? E-mail [email protected] and tell us.
