Alice Lloyd
Thanksgiving is a secular holiday in the US, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a day for families to gather and share a large meal, and to reflect on what they are thankful for. While the British may be aware of Thanksgiving, they do not fully understand it. This is because Thanksgiving is based on events in American history—it commemorates the arrival of English colonists in the New World. There is nothing for the British to celebrate about their role in this. The British already have their own harvest festival in September, which can be traced back to pre-Christian times.
What You'll Learn
Thanksgiving is not a commercial holiday
When pilgrims went from the UK to America, they were used to celebrating the harvest and used that celebration to also be thankful for their good trip across the ocean. In 1789, Washington proclaimed the first official thanksgiving celebration. In 1863, Lincoln made the last Thursday of November the official date, and later, in 1941, Roosevelt moved it to the fourth Thursday in November.
Thanksgiving is a day to reflect on what you appreciate in your life and spend time with people you love. It is a day to be thankful for what you have and to express gratitude. It is not about buying gifts or engaging in commercial activities. While there may be some sales and promotions around Thanksgiving, the focus of the holiday is on spending time with family and friends, expressing gratitude, and sharing a meal together.
Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to come together and connect, to appreciate each other's company, and to create memories. It is a day to put aside differences and come together in harmony, just as the Pilgrims and Native Americans did during the first Thanksgiving. While the reality of that first Thanksgiving may be more complex and less harmonious than the popular narrative suggests, the spirit of coming together and giving thanks remains an important aspect of the holiday.
Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings and express gratitude for the good things in your life. It is a day to connect with others and strengthen bonds, creating a sense of community and belonging. It is a holiday that brings people together and fosters a sense of unity and shared purpose. While it may not be a commercial holiday, it is a day that enriches the lives of those who observe it in a way that material possessions cannot.
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It is a secular holiday
Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, meaning it is not related to any religion. However, it did originate from religion.
The holiday's roots can be traced back to Britain, where pagan celebrations of the harvest took place in late September and early October. When Christianity came to the island, these harvest celebrations became a Christian tradition.
During the English Reformation in the reign of Henry VIII, days of thanksgiving and special thanksgiving religious services became important. The Puritan party in the Anglican Church wished to eliminate all Church holidays apart from the Lord's Day, replacing them with Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving. Days of Thanksgiving were observed through Christian church services and other gatherings, in response to events that were viewed as acts of special providence.
When the Pilgrims, a group of English religious refugees, arrived in North America in the 1620s, they brought their tradition of Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving with them. The first Thanksgiving in 1621 was prompted by a good harvest. The Pilgrims celebrated with the Wampanoag tribe, with whom they had formed an alliance.
Although the holiday has long been perceived as a Christian one, the idea of Thanksgiving as an originally Christian holiday has been questioned. The complex history of Thanksgiving involves religious persecution and colonialism.
The later development of the holiday moved away from Christian influences to support a nationalistic agenda. Thanksgiving became a secular holiday when it was declared a national holiday in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. As a nationwide observance, the holiday became increasingly secular, with local parades and celebrations.
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The traditional menu is specific
Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, but it did start as part of a religious celebration. It originates from the original pagan celebrations of the harvest, which took place in late September and early October. When Christianity came to Britain, these harvest celebrations became a Christian tradition.
When the reformation started, most church holidays were replaced with days of humiliation and days of thanksgiving. The harvest celebrations became a day of thanksgiving.
When pilgrims went from the UK to America, they were used to celebrating the harvest and used that celebration to also be thankful for their good trip across the ocean.
The traditional Thanksgiving menu is very specific. A turkey is a must, and the bigger the bird, the better. Leftovers are a key part of any Thanksgiving feast. In addition to turkey, there are some standard dishes most American families furnish the table with. These include mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (sometimes with marshmallows on top), stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, cornbread, and pumpkin or pecan pie. Green bean casserole is also popular.
Every family has its own slight variation on the meal, but most don't wander far from tradition.
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It is a day of sombre remembrance for Native Americans
Thanksgiving is a day of sombre remembrance for Native Americans, who mourn the slaughter of millions of Indigenous people and the theft of their lands by outsiders. The United American Indians of New England declared Thanksgiving a National Day of Mourning 50 years ago, in 1970. The day is a time to remember and reflect on the genocide and mistreatment of millions of Native Americans, to honour ancestors, to recognise the ongoing struggles of Native Americans, and to come together as a people.
Many Native Americans fast for the entire day, while others gather with their families to share a meal, exchanging prayers and stories from the rich oral history of Native Americans.
The National Day of Mourning protest is held annually at Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is attended by several hundred participants. The event's objectives include educating the public about the history of the Wampanoag people, dispelling the mythology commonly taught as part of the Thanksgiving story, and raising awareness of historical and ongoing struggles facing Native American tribes.
The dominant cultural and historical story of Thanksgiving has been told from the perspective of European colonialists, commemorating a peaceful, friendly meeting between English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe for three days of feasting and Thanksgiving in 1621. However, this version of events omits the fact that the Pilgrims went on to slaughter and carry out a genocide of the Native Americans, and that English settlers robbed Wampanoag graves and stole food from them.
Native Americans have been fighting to change school curriculums to more accurately reflect Indigenous history, but these efforts have been repeatedly shot down. As a result, many Americans are unaware of the true history of Thanksgiving and the atrocities committed against Native Americans.
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It is not American Christmas
Thanksgiving is not American Christmas. It is a secular holiday, meaning it is not related to any religion. However, it did start as part of religion. Thanksgiving originated from the original pagan celebrations of harvest that took place in Britain around late September and early October. When Christianity came to the island, it turned into a Christian celebration.
Thanksgiving is a non-denominational, multicultural celebration of coexistence. It is a day when people reflect on what they appreciate in their lives and spend time with people they love. It is a day of giving thanks and the centrepiece of celebrations remains a Thanksgiving dinner.
Christmas, on the other hand, has more than subtle ties to Christianity, making it exclusive. Christmas is also a time for family and a big dinner, but it is distinctively a Christian celebration of Christ's birthday.
Thanksgiving is also not commercialised. It is just a dinner party with people you may like. Thanksgiving acts as a buffer, containing the hullabaloo of Christmas shopping and decorations to one month.
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Frequently asked questions
Thanksgiving is based on events in American history. It is a celebration of the arrival of English colonists in the New World, and the British have nothing to celebrate about their role in it.
Thanksgiving commemorates when, in 1621, English settlers (the Pilgrims) in Plymouth, Massachusetts, held a three-day festival to celebrate their first successful harvest. The story taught in schools is that the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, who had been warring, set aside their differences to participate in the event. However, there is no evidence that Native Americans were present, and the Pilgrims went on to slaughter them.
British people may be confused about the food served at Thanksgiving. They may not understand that Thanksgiving dinner has a very specific menu, and that certain dishes are staples. For example, chicken pot pie is not a traditional dish.
The British equivalent of Thanksgiving is Harvest Festival, which can trace its roots back to pre-Christian times. It is a more subdued event than Thanksgiving, and is usually celebrated in schools, where children contribute to a collection for the needy.
