This is for those of you who string up the Christmas lights on November 1st. I get it. November is kind of a sad month, at least in the Midwest. Most retailers don't know what to do with themselves, other than hang paper turkeys in the windows and discount cranberry sauce, green beans and stuffing. Everyone is dying to get over this dreary month where the pretty autumn colors die and snow hasn't yet brightened up everything yet. I get it.

At the same time, I think Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays, mainly because it is one of the lesser-marketed ones. As someone who worked in retail, I can attest that Thanksgiving was pretty much stepped on. It's not like Easter or Christmas, which both are rooted in Christian traditions. It's not like the fourth of July where everyone shoots toxins into the atmosphere and gets drunk before 8 o'clock. (You should have seen the amount of alcohol people were buying the first week of July). And to be fair, those holidays are fun and have their merits, but I think Thanksgiving is beautiful in its simplicity.

People aren't rushing to buy gifts (until Black Friday, which in my book is also kind of disgraceful, can't capitalism wait one gosh darn minute?), and it's just a nice time to celebrate the important things, family, friends, and food. Especially food. Doesn't anyone remember the can food drives we would do in grade school for homeless shelters and hungry families? Why does that get "squashed" in order to make way for a bunch of toys and gift cards for people who already have everything they need? I love Christmas, believe me, but it seems a little excessive.

Coming from a close family who often had large family meals together every week, Thanksgiving felt like just another family dinner, but this year I won't be spending Thanksgiving with my family, and it has got me thinking about why I find this holiday so important– because it really is a gift. It's a gift of history that has been forgotten.

The "pilgrims" or "separatists" were not the founders of Thanksgiving. The New England tribes who were the original habitants of North America celebrated autumnal harvest feasts of thanksgiving. They viewed everyday on the land as a day of thanksgiving toward the Creator. When I think of the other part of grade school Thanksgiving celebrations like dressing up like, "Indians," and trivializing everything about the people who were here first, I am ashamed.

While the moment of the "first Thanksgiving" itself was seemingly one of unity between the Wampanoag Federation and the Plymouth colony, it was followed by tragedy and betrayal. Sixteen years afterward, the Plymouth forces (our so-called pilgrims) slaughtered 400-700 Pequot women, children, and elders near Mystic River, Connecticut on May 26, 1637.

So why would I defend a holiday that has been somewhat appropriated by the European-Americans from the tribes who were here first? Because it needs to be remembered. Right now we are facing a violent fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the dangerous consequences of our wasteful actions against the environment. Thanksgiving is not only an excuse to go home for the weekend, let your mom or family wait on you while you shovel down stuffing, and take a nap after dinner. It's about family and friends yes, but it's also about where we came from and our heritage in this country, with all of our faults and our virtues. It's a learning opportunity for all of us, one that would be fatal for us to ignore.

So, before you turn on your beloved Christmas songs and dust off the boxes of ornaments in the basement, just think about it for a minute. Think about what "thanksgiving," and I don't mean the holiday.