As families gather across the United States today, honoring a tradition that has endured for 400 years in this land, we are reminded that we have much for which to be thankful. Even in times of rancor and discord, this nation remains an abundant land of bounty and opportunity, a fact for which we are eternally grateful.
Locally, we cherish the rivers and forests and mountains and beaches that define a beautiful corner of the world. We laud a mild climate that creates that beauty and the generous people who inhabit this land.
And so, the strategy today is simple: Sit down, give thanks, feast, and enjoy the company. Repeat as necessary.
All of which is not always easy these days. A quick Google search reveals no shortage of articles with headlines such as “How to talk politics at your family meal” or “How to avoid all-out political war at Thanksgiving.” It seems to be the theme of the season, with political dissonance ringing at high levels.
So, what to do when somebody throws out, “How ’bout those impeachment hearings”? To that, we have no answers. Really. You’re on your own; we offer no advice for the unique dynamics of your particular family. We will, however, provide some reminders of what brings us together today and the reasons that all Americans can be thankful.
It is a noble sentiment, one typically traced to a 1621 feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans at Plymouth in what is now Massachusetts. They celebrated a bountiful harvest, and the Pilgrims honored the natives who had helped them survive a harsh winter the previous year.
That likely is the story you heard throughout your schooling, but historians say it is inaccurate.
Apparently, the origins of Thanksgiving on this continent are found in the 1619 arrival of settlers in Virginia. According to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, “a hardy band of Englishmen landed at Berkeley Hundred on the James River and held the real first Thanksgiving.” Washingtonian magazine reports that the settlers’ charter dictated that a celebration of their arrival should “be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”
How that evolved into an afternoon of football and a full week of “Black Friday” sales, we aren’t quite sure. But the celebration has been an American tradition ever since.
In 1863, during the Civil War, that tradition became a national holiday, with President Lincoln declaring a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” It was celebrated on the final Thursday of November until 1942, when the holiday was moved to the fourth Thursday of the month. The reason? To add a couple days to the Christmas shopping season in years when the final Thursday falls particularly late in the month.
Regardless of the calendar or the origins of the holiday or the latest three-day mattress sale, the meaning of Thanksgiving remains inviolate. It is a time to celebrate friends and family — even those you don’t really desire to see more than once a year. If the turkey is slightly burned or the mashed potatoes a little runny, it remains a day for counting blessings rather than longings.
As author Henry Van Dyke said, “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” Yes, we are following our impulses today; hopefully, they reflect the better nature of our angels. And if they don’t? What to do?
Well, another helping of turkey can’t hurt.
