A Different Perspective on Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving again and I remember the year when my sister exclaimed at the table that she didn’t even like turkey. I then realized that if it was any other day other than Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t be eating the macaroni and cheese, gravy, turkey stuffing, etcetera. These are all dishes that millions of Americans eat on this day, and they are also dishes I could do without. So why did I find myself mechanically eating this food while vacantly wishing people a “Happy Thanksgiving,” when in reality I didn’t quite understand what Thanksgiving was about.

Food preferences aside, the bigger point is that Thanksgiving is not just a holiday; it is also a big cliché that is hard to escape from if you live in the United States. When you take into account its commercialization, with the extravagant Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, excessive football games on television, people camping outside of Wal-Mart for “Black Friday” specials, and the massacre of millions of turkeys, it also becomes somewhat of a farce and it makes you wonder if there’s anything of true value in the holiday.

Furthermore, it becomes hypocritical when you think of the traditionally considered, first Thanksgiving dinner between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians in 1621. The Wampanoag people had taught the Pilgrims, who were starving, how to survive in the new territory they were trying to inhabit -Wampanoag territory. The dinner between the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims symbolized a gesture of friendship and good faith. Therefore, it’s sad that the ultimate fate and treatment by Anglo settlers of the Wampanoag Indians and Native Americans in general, lacked that kindness and good faith which the Wampanoag Indians demonstrated.

This is why I believe Thanksgiving should be re-examined both socially and historically in public discourse. It should also be more culturally inclusive. Thanksgiving is a specifically American holiday, yet, if you’re not a direct descendant of the Mayflower ship, it becomes hard to get excited about or connect with the holiday. The fact is that in the US today, there are many different ethnic groups, and we’ve all had a role in shaping the country. Thus, Thanksgiving should be “localized,” or adapted to the different cultural, religious and linguistic groups that exist in the country.

In its purest sense, a holiday like Thanksgiving provides a day of leisure and gives people an opportunity to spend time with family and to reflect on what they’re thankful for, things that many of us don’t do as often. If we do away with the stereotypes, norms and superficial aspects of the holiday, and attempt to emulate the Wampanoag Indians with acts of kindness, then many more of us will have a better time and I would believe in the purpose of a Thanksgiving holiday - worldwide.

Happy "Localized" Thanksgiving from all the team at BeatBabel!
Larisa Casillas

A Different Perspective on Thanksgiving