Thanksgiving is known to be the holiday of fall, like Fourth of July is the holiday of summer and Christmas is the holiday of the winter. Thanksgiving is also known for the feast where you eat not so traditional turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.Thanksgiving’s original claim to fame is when the pilgrims anchored their British ship at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts and after a long winter the pilgrims built houses and planted crops in preparation for the next winter. In the fall of 1621, pilgrims celebrated their successful harvest, with the help of Native Americans, with a feast. Governor William Bradford proclaimed, “A day of thanksgiving toward God.” Furthermore, the citizens in New England thanked God for his blessings and protection for the upcoming winter. So that brings the question, was Thanksgiving originally meant to be a religious holiday, rather than a national celebration?
First of all, religion was extremely prominent in the 17th century, so almost everyone was religious. All citizens of the British colonies went to church on Sunday, and some prayed everyday, even multiple times a day. Since religion was a daily practice, was the mention of God just a casual occurrence? Unlike other holidays that are mentioned in the Bible, like Easter and Christmas, Thanksgiving is not mentioned in the Bible. Christmas and Easter directly involved God’s sacrifices towards us, while Thanksgiving is just a day that is celebrated to thank God. So if it is not in the Bible, is it a religious holiday? But, the events that lead up to Thanksgiving all revolving around religion. For example, the only reason the Englishmen even came to New England is because of the the need for religious freedom against England. So here’s another question, is Thanksgiving considered a religious holiday based on the events leading up into the great harvest?
Before writing this article, I did not realize that Thanksgiving was even related to religion. I always thought that the great harvest was just a celebration that the pilgrims have survived the majority of the year and are able to survive the upcoming cold winter, the cold winter where so many have died the year before. Thanksgiving was also considered a federal holiday in 1863, over 200 years after the first Thanksgiving harvest. Also, Thanksgiving could have been a religious holiday those 400 years ago, but has Thanksgiving evolved into a family feast? Stated by FOX news “It is not based on any religious doctrine like Christmas, or the commemoration of a historic event like the Fourth of July. It is a holiday created by the government for its people to give thanks.” So, do you agree with FOX news? Is Thanksgiving just created for the joy of giving thanks?
So this Thanksgiving, instead of talking about the latest sales at Macy’s or the best food on the dinner table, talk about what you think Thanksgiving should be labeled as. Do you think Thanksgiving should be thought of as a religious holiday, or solely as the federal holiday we know and love?
