Thanksgiving Together May be

 Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day of family, friends, too much food, football, parades, and giving thanks. It has somehow turned from the day the pilgrims went duck hunting to grumbling and sale ads.   The pilgrims prayed for enough food to not starve the winner.  They used the days for giving thanks for making it through the summer.  The Wampanoag people brought them fish and venison. They were able to celebrate peace and camaraderie.  

This camaraderie lasted for over 50 years.  Then the king of England decided to wipe them out. Thousands of people died on both sides.   Interestingly, what was once a day of giving thanks for survival became a religious holiday only to be celebrated by the north since the south didn't want the government to tell them what to do with their religion.   

Legends of the first Thanksgiving and life at the time give us our traditions today.  How the Macy’s parade, breaking the wishbone, and Santa Clause came from eating shellfish on the ground might be a stretch.  The football game could very loosely be tied to the gunfire and racing games of the Pilgrims.  Of course, beer and liquor drinking have not changed much.  Though there is some reason to believe that we drink less now. 

It was then turned into a holiday of thanks and nonpartisan political speeches.  Religious prayers got lost.   Along the way, Thanksgiving went back to celebrate the unity between all cultures, all beliefs, and all backgrounds.  People moved farther and farther away from family; it became a day of gathering.  To see families from across town, the state, or the country. 

 

However, there is a reason that the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is the biggest drinking day of the year.   It’s not New Year's Eve when everybody is partying and happy.   It's not St. Patrick's Day.   No, the biggest bar night of the year is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  Not only does the majority of the country have the next day off, but they are also spending the next day giving thanks congregated with their families.   

Some family traditions we look forward to.  Some not so much.  At one point in the past, I was in charge of making mashed potatoes.  However, normally potatoes are white/beige. So is the turkey, the stuffing, and the fried onions on the green beans.  Everyone else in the kitchen was minding their own pots.  I casually opened the cupboard housing the food coloring.   It was time to eat.  The dishes passed around the table in a chaotic me first style.  Then woohoo erupted from the one holding the mashed potatoes.  The melty cheese covering had been broken revealing the bright blue contents.

All eyes looked at me as the table went silent.  I looked up from my serving spoon of stuffing.  “What, everything else is brown.  There needs to be color.”  Every year since the mashed potatoes have been a different color to the chagrin of certain family members.  They can have their plain white mashed potatoes any other day of the year.  But on Thanksgiving, any color in the rainbow is possible.

This day marks the start of the holiday season.   Thanks to President Roosevelt is now a week longer.  The holidays are a time of year filled with stress and anxiety.   We no longer give thanks for a good harvest or pray to make sure that we make it through the winner.   But we should give thanks for all the little things that we do have.