There’s a lot of discussion in the US these days about our national Thanksgiving holiday. Human beings have a long and rich history of giving thanks to God (or gods) for a bountiful harvest, so no one nation holds a monopoly on the idea, or how it is celebrated. Here in America, what started as a religious event has, over time, become increasingly secular.
In fact, as a child, when I thought of Thanksgiving, I thought of parades, and feasts with fancy foods, and pilgrims wearing funny clothes. I didn’t think of people trying to be faithful to their God by escaping oppression and struggling to survive resettling in a very unfamiliar landscape, far from “home.”
I also didn’t think about the harmful impact these white-skinned settlers would have on the native population, either. A recent article about the impact of those pilgrims on the Wampanoag people has helped me understand that many Native Americans want nothing to do with our modern take on Thanksgiving. It brings up too many painful memories of what they have lost.
All this has got me thinking further about the two years I spent teaching English conversation and editing translations of doctoral dissertations at a Presbyterian college and seminary in Seoul, South Korea in the late 1980s. Last week I mentioned the different foods I experienced there. I also experienced different holidays. The Koreans have a traditional thanksgiving, or harvest festival, called Chuseok, which is also family focused and also a massive travel period, as people leave the big cities and return to their agrarian homelands to honor their ancestors and eat special foods.
But among Korean Presbyterian Christians (and perhaps other denominations; I don’t know), there’s a second Thanksgiving, specifically religious, that’s celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. You see, American missionaries brought their cultural Thanksgiving tradition to Korea along with their faith, and the Koreans wove the two together. So now Korean Christians have separate cultural and religious Thanksgivings. I took the photo above as people gathered outdoors for the religious Thanksgiving service at the seminary where I taught.
I wonder if two celebrations might be a good idea for us here in the US as well. Perhaps, that way, we could separate giving thanks to God for the fruits of the earth from figuring out how to address the historical baggage we carry. If we can step back from enshrining the holiday, we might be able to address its shortcomings.
What do you think? How might you separate the cultural and religious elements of Thanksgiving this year, at least in your heart? What would it mean to do that?
The religious element is, of course, giving thanks for our many blessings, which I hope most of us do every day. But now when we think of the history of our Thanksgiving holiday, I believe it should be giving thanks for the Native peoples who helped the Pilgrims survive, and even more than that, asking forgiveness for what European immigrants did to decimate the Native peoples and destroy their cultures.
Hi, Aston, and thank you. Yes, I agree with you about thanking and asking forgiveness of our Native siblings. I hoped that my link to the article about the Wampanoag people would lead readers to thinking about it—and I’m grateful that you did!
Peace,
Shirin
How do we begin to set right the wrongs that were done? I don’t think having a second day would do it… in all likelihood we would end up commercializing that day as well. Some continued and serious efforts toward acknowledgement and apology are all I can come up with… re-writing our school curriculum perhaps to teach “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey used to say. Awareness is a slow process for those of us who embarrassed to look backwards. Thank you for doing what you do to raise the questions.
Blessings to you and yours.
Thank you, Joyce, for raising these important questions. At this point, I believe that raising awareness and asking uncomfortable questions is an important part of the process. I also don’t know that we can “right” wrongs, but rather seek to stop perpetuating what is happening now, to the best of our abilities, to shift the trajectory…and it’s not easy. Given the American tendency to idolize and commercialize what we commemorate, perhaps we need to stop commemorating and set aside days to work for change instead…?
Thank you for sparking my own further thoughts and reflections! Blessings to you and yours as well.
Peace,
Shirin
Thanks, Joyce!
I don’t know why it is so difficult for us to look backwards knowing and actually correcting the historical myths perpetuated by white Europeans. I seek the truth. I do not advocate Guilt or Shame, regarding the past, for those feelings immobilize us. I agree we need to change systems/institutions now, and as you suggested to change school curricula—all of it, to integrate the horrible truth that this country was born out of a desire to keep slavery legal, once England outlawed it. Manifest Destiny should never have been a justification, as if God blessed what the settlers and expansionists did. When libraries begin to add voices speaking of and documenting truth: Indigenous peoples, African-Americans, the Chinese, etc. perhaps the older versions of history written by the powerful will no longer be acceptable.
People with privilege must use it to make this happen. Oppressed voices are not validated until the majority of people take off their blinders, educate themselves, NOT be immobilized by guilt, and speak out, stand up for these sorts of changes. Also, donating $ to various causes helps, but wouldn’t it be better to form relationships with those whose history has been silenced? The Episcopal Church has Native/Indigenous Ministries that may be a resource. I can give thanks for all my blessings AND take time to mourn with Indigenous Peoples as an ally.
Thank you, Terry, for your thoughtful and thorough response to Joyce. I agree with you on so much of this. We have a lot of work to do before this country comes close to reflecting the glory of God’s creation where all beings are treated equally and with respect. Thank you for the reminder of all we need to mourn.
Peace,
Shirin