TWH – Today is Thanksgiving, a holiday largely celebrated in the United States, some U.S. territories, and Brazil. There are 15 other countries that have a similar holiday celebrated at different times of the year. Canada celebrates it on the second Monday in October.
There is also a very painful side to Thanksgiving. The United American Indians of New England recognize it as the National Day of Mourning and one of protest since 1970.
For Native Americans, the myth of the first Thanksgiving that is spoonfed to most Americans reflects the deep disparity between American ideology and the actual history of vicious treatment meted out by Europeans to Indigenous peoples initially and in the subsequent four centuries.
The mythology around the holiday and the pilgrim-Indigenous contact has fueled vast revisionism of history that favored the colonists and, until recently, erased the lived reality of Indigenous peoples in North America. The very real experience of Indigenous communities in North America must be learned and acknowledged as it is as much a part of the Thanksgiving holiday as pilgrim arrival. That is the unfortunate historical reality.
In Pandemic Thanksgiving 2.0, the usual family celebrations have returned. Travel is expected at just slightly below pre-pandemic levels. AAA predicts more than 53.4 million people expected to travel, the highest single-year increase since 2005. That is about 5% below AAA’s 2019 numbers. Air travel is already surging with 4.2 million travelers expected to fly, up about 80% from last year, bringing it about 9% below 2019 levels.
While many stores are closed for the national holiday, not everyone has the day off. Many restaurant and retail workers are expected to be at their jobs, as are health care workers, first responders, law enforcement, military, TSA, flight staff, and other essential workers. Let’s remember them and their work with gratitude.
Let us also not forget the many lives we have lost to the pandemic. There are empty chairs not just at Thanksgiving dinners, but at every meal around the world.
There is still much to be thankful for: the little victories like handfastings, graduations, elevations, and personal discoveries.
We have witnessed the continuing upheaval of all social systems–legal, medical, educational, and economic; we have also learned that we have the power to repair our frayed systems and build new ones out of the pieces.
It may be difficult to consider, but we can be thankful that we can create a better future.
The famous “Blue Marble” photograph, captured by the crew of Apollo 17 [public domain]
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TWH wishes everyone a brush with gratitude today. May we all have peaceful gatherings and may we each find something to be thankful for, even if we have to look a little harder.
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