Although Thanksgiving represents a season for generosity and gratitude, its roots are often unknown or overlooked.

Thanksgiving is a core part of the history of United States, and is among the first things we learn about. Jessica Sullivan, a sophomore, added ,“ I think I was taught a lot in school about Thanksgiving; in grade school we would do little projects saying what we are thankful for.”

The American holiday of Thanksgiving has a rich and deep history. It  was weaved into what it is today because of the complex relationship of the Native Americans and pilgrims and the damage that followed.  There’s much more to the history of Thanksgiving than what is just common knowledge. Even today, Thanksgiving is sometimes represented wrongly, including in the classroom, as an idyllic blend of fact and myth.

The ‘First Thanksgiving’ took place in the autumn of 1621, although the Native Americans hosted annual harvest celebrations by themselves since ancient times. The ‘First Thanksgiving’, however, was not the first harvest celebration to happen,but it was the year used to promote Thanksgiving enough to become a holiday. Daven Hiskey of History.com notes that it would take Sarah Joseph Hale twenty years of “tirelessly [campaigning] for over 20 years to have Thanksgiving become a national holiday with a set date”. However, it “wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.”

Pilgrims, are only half of the equation to Thanksgiving. The European settlers owe the Native American tribes that assisted them in the winter and during times of drought and challenge.  Additionally, the Native American tribes are diverse in culture and customs. Each tribe is quite separate and it is inaccurate to represent the Native Americans as one collective unit, especially in the tale of Thanksgiving. Squanto, the leader of the Pawtuxet helped the colonists survive and helped them create an alliance with the Wampanoag tribe. The First Thanksgiving  was celebrated between the Wampanoag tribe and the Plymouth colonists.

The predominantly Christian Pilgrims thanked God for the good harvest and celebrated at this First Thanksgiving. The European settlers would probably have succombed to the harshness of North America’s weather and wilderness  if not for the assistance of the local Native tribes.

Sadly, eventually the colonists became hungry for more land and skirmishes between the Natives and colonists broke out. Although the relationship between the colonists and the Native tribes deteriorated, the holiday they celebrated survived.

Thanksgiving represents many different things, as there are countless traditions and things to be grateful for. It offers a day of connecting with the family, enjoying great food, and reminiscing on all the beautiful memories that have been created throughout the years. Jessica Sullivan praises Thanksgiving, “ I love it because I like seeing my family and eating great food!”  However, the concept of the holiday can be hard to define concretely. Mr. Gonzalez, a social studies teacher, explained how complexity of representing Thanksgiving; “ I feel like the concept of Thanksgiving varies so much from person to person that school serves no chance to truly represent it.  How do you represent “Thanks,” Mr. Gonzalez questioned.

He continued, “I guess if you are asking a history teacher about a meal shared between pilgrims and indians when founding the country you would not get far with that conversation in my vision.  Instead, as a former US history teacher, I replay in my head the day in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln gave his formal Thanksgiving Proclamation that we should observe this day once a year and give thanks for our blessings from God and man’s greatness.  So I think to myself, could a school ever represent this?”

Celebrating the holiday offers an opportunity to give to those who are less fortunate, while appreciating the things you have.

Nazareth, in particular, strives every year to bring the holiday spirit of Thanksgiving by encouraging the donation of coats and canned food. At Naz, we emphasize the importance of the giving part that is essential to the meaning of Thanksgiving. Mr. Gonzalez expressed his opinion on Nazareth community stating, “ I think we do a great job of saying thanks by earning our extra day off to spend with family and friends at a time in the year when we all long for a break.  Mostly, I see our school represent it well when I see students and faculty acknowledge the many ways we are blessed and continue to do more.  I take immense pride in simply hearing thanks from a student or having the opportunity to deliver the same thanks to those who surround me on a daily basis.”

There are endless ways to appreciate others and celebrate Thanksgiving, including traditions that are important to many families.

Jess Sullivan described her Thanksgiving celebrations: “I always go out to eat at usually a buffet with my family.”

Mr. Gonzalez’s family celebrates a tradition of simplicity: “If there is one glorious tradition my family is known for, I would say it is the tradition of simplicity.  We do not do anything or go anywhere, instead, we spend one day to eat, nap and repeat together. We do not allow any work to be done.  I never wanted my mom cooking for thirty people. I wanted her and my family to watch a bad movie, eat good food and spend time together.  Hence, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.” In college, he observed a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition at Benedictine University that happened on a Thursday in November, He explains; “[the] University made dozens of turkeys, hams and beef surrounded by tables of appetizers, sweets and sides. There were even these things known as vegetables, I still don’t know what those are, I think they are there to decorate my turkey. It was one night where the entire university would be served by the faculty and staff and we would pray and eat together. It was great to see the love in the room, the number of people happy and the number of bellies filled to capacity. It was phenomenal and I still grin just thinking about it.”
Even though Turkeys certainly aren’t thankful for the Thanksgiving holiday, we should keep in our hearts the ones we love and be grateful for the generosity that exists in our lives and in our world on the fourth Thursday of the November.