Stuffed With Ignorance

It’s a damn shame that most people forget the origins of holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that virtually every holiday I celebrate is drowning in liquor and suffocated by inconceivable amounts of food responsible for this country’s obesity problem, but I can’t help but wonder if I’m missing something.

Thanksgiving’s beginning is fairly well known: the pilgrims settled in Plymouth and were taught by the natives how to survive our epic winters and after the first successful harvest, they all came together to celebrate with a feast. Years later Abraham Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving be held every November and there you have our day of gorging. However, I still feel cheated. I love being surrounded by family where everyone’s childhood quirks are exposed, but it always feels like another family dinner just with the addition of apple pie.

This year I was determined to make this holiday unforgettable, at least in my eyes. Instead of bowing our heads and having my father say a few touching words of thanks, I insisted that everyone voice what they were grateful for. In a desperate attempt to bring some history back into this day, I shared that I was thankful for all of them; this past year I felt like the ignorant pilgrims struggling for survival and seeing no hope of living. But like the natives knew the land, they all knew me well enough to know what I needed, even when I didn’t. As sentimental as that may have sounded, it reigns true. And in some twisted fashion I like to think I brought a little bit of the past to the present with my little speech.

When you stop to think about the major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years, they tend to be more of an excuse to devour food and get blitzed. While their origins may seem familiar, do you think about them when you’re pouring another glass of wine? Have you thought about the struggles and comradely of the Pilgrims and the natives while you carve your glazed turkey? Try it sometime. It gives the holiday a whole new meaning.