LEFT OF THE RIGHT: Giving Thanks, An American Tradition?
For most Americans Thanksgiving day has become a kind of mass family reunion day. An upwardly mobile society has scattered families far and wide making the days leading up to turkovia some of the busiest of the year for airlines, trains, and highways. Today we spend the day watching parades and football games. And of course we stuff ourselves with turkey and all the fixins'. But what we call Thanksgiving Day is in reality a harvest celebration. Virtually every single culture that has existed throughout history has celebrated the harvest by feasting. Here in America we've premised our holiday on the story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. The story we are told is that the Pilgrims traveled to the new world to escape religious persecution. But did you know that the Mayflower expedition was also a mission seeking profit? That's right, the men who financed the trip to Plymouth expected the Mayflower to return full of merchantable goods. And when it returned with nothing in it but rocks for ballast, they were not happy. In 1863 the holiday was made official by Abraham Lincoln to bolster retail sales and in 1941 FDR moved the day back a week in an attempt to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. So this idea that the commercialization of the holidays is a recent development is not exactly the case. Holiday tradition and commerce are one in the same thing. Think about it, we celebrate Thanksgiving so we can give thanks for what we have. And how did we get what we have? Ding, ding, ding, that's right, commerce. So in essence our holidays are a celebration of commerce.
But holidays represent something a lot deeper than the material. They represent more than anything the connection we all need to feel to each other. We humans have always sought commonality with one another. And one of the ways we accomplish that is by celebrating en mass. And we concentrate these holidays during the most depressing time of year, winter.
Holidays are about tradition. And tradition is the source of commonality that keeps our society together and functioning. So don't worry over the commercialization of, or what religious tenants different cultures wrap around these celebrations. It's only natural that our holidays would reflect who we are. Instead look at them as a day to not only give thanks, but to acknowledge that we are all part of something... Humanity. ************* Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent Devin's column, "Left Of The Right" published weekly or more to Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news. Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class. You can find all of Devin's columns at http://gather.com/leftoftheright You can keep up with Devin's postings and his Gather activity by joining his Gather network. Just
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