Why Thanksgiving is more than only an American Holiday
Thanksgiving means many things to many people. It is the perfect time for the family to get together and enjoy family time, as well as being a time when you can think about all the things to be thankful for too. Unfortunately, the tradition of thanksgiving is quickly disappearing. In the past 10 years, we have seen Thanksgiving shift from being a celebration of remembrance of the pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving, to a retail outlet’s opportunity to make huge profits and in very recent years, the entire holiday of thanksgiving has become almost a blur between Halloween and Christmas. Just another day to prepare for the Christmas festivities and something that is sadly somewhat forgotten.
Thanksgiving however, is far more than just a holiday. As we learn in schools when we live in America, the first thanksgiving was a great feast in 1621 in Massachusetts, where the 102 pilgrims that traveled to America celebrated their newfound homeland’s first harvest. It has evolved into a wonderful tradition, where families get together and celebrate this day together just as the pilgrims did all those centuries ago. Even if you do not particularly bear the pilgrims in mind, Thanksgiving has truly become a great opportunity to be thankful for many other things too.
Whilst the reason behind Halloween has become lost in the excitement of dressing up and being a time for children to roam the neighborhood filling their trick or treat bags full of sweets and other goodies and Christmas is, for many children, often all about the presents and Christmas lights, we really need to focus on not allowing this great tradition of thanksgiving to be swept under the rug, or caught up in some sort of retail extravaganza.
This year, when you sit down with your family for a hearty thanksgiving feast, try to remember all the reasons why you are sitting around the table, enjoying that meal as a family. Spend some moments considering the pilgrims and the hardships that they faced to travel to America to become your ancestors. You should spend some time thinking about the other people around the world today to whom you should give thanks. Your own family and friends for being there for you. The president of America for keeping the country together and maintaining order and rigidity for this wonderful country. Think about all the other people around the world, who may not be able to enjoy a large thanksgiving meal and even those who may not even be eating anything at all today.
Thanksgiving is far more than only an American holiday.
