What does Thanksgiving Mean?

I had always wondered what Native Americans thought of Thanksgiving. Since I know that they did'nt exactly get a "fair deal" out of helping the Pilgrims.

So this is what I've found out through talking with Natives and reading:

Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims or other European Settlers.

To them Thanksgiving is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native peoples and what they consider to be the theft of their land. Certain groups of them use Thanksgving as day to protest and call it a "National Day of Mourning".

I think as Thanksgiving is celebrated this year we should realize what a struggle just to surive these Native Americans went through while this country was being "founded". While some of us celebrate this holiday with food, family, and friends there are others who "mourn".

Abe Lincoln was the president who made it into a national holiday. The Pilgrims did'nt celebrate "Thanksgiving". They had something called "Forefathers Day.

What does Thankgiving mean to you? Are we celebrateing the Pilgrim's arrival here in this country or has it's modern meaning entirely changed?

Good topic, thanks.

Here's an URL about the REAL Thanksgiving history:

www.altpr.org...

It seems that Thanksgiving was given after massacring the Indians. It's an interesting, thought-provoking article. The early settlers behaved pretty badly to the Indians, who only tried to help them survive.

Also Google:
Powhatan
Squanto
Pequot Indians
"Why I Hate Thanksgiving" by Mitchell ?

Thanks for the links ForestLady. They'll make interesting reading for anyone who wants to find out about real history.

There is also a show on tomorrow night on the History Channel at 8:00 est., called "Deperate Crossing, the Untold Story of the Mayflower" that ought to be also be quite interesting to watch.





[edit on 18-11-2006 by elaine]

There's a wealth of information about Thanksgiving to be found here:

Google Search

History is what it is and no one can change that.

In our time, Thanksgiving should be exactly what the name implies: a day for us to stop and thank God for the bounty and grace we enjoy.

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks (traditionally to God) at the close of the harvest season.

en.wikipedia.org...

Thanksgiving should be a day any American of any ethnicity or of any religious or political persuasion can enjoy and celebrate to the fullest.

I have actually celebrated several Thanksgivings with atheists and I swore I'd never do that again because of the obvious irony of it all.

If you don't believe in God, then its just another day of gluttony.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
If you don't believe in God, then its just another day of gluttony.

Indeed. Though my day of gluttony passed a month ago.

As a Native American I don't see it as a reminder of the genocide, that's Columbus Day (Día de la Resistencia Indígena)

Thanksgiving is literally a celebration of a bountiful harvest for us. Up north the growing season is shorter which is why it's in October around the Harvest moon in Canada.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all the blessings I have in my life. It is a time to gather with family and friends to share not only a meal but laughter and fun. For many years my youngest brother had no time for family but since his deployment to Iraq he has come to value his family and enjoys spending time with us. This has made holidays which were already very important to me even better. I'm looking forward to this Thanksgiving and time spent with those who are most important to me. You see I consider myself to be one of the richest people I know. No, I don't have lots of money; I live payday to payday but what I do have is wonderful family and friends who love me just the way I am; and who allow me to share their lives with them. The people I will be blessed to spend time with this Thursday are the people I laugh and cry with sharing good times and bad. Those things are so much more important then money. To me this is the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

So to my family and friends I say thanks for being in my life and allowing me to be in yours and I love you. By the by I'm including the people in this community who have also allowed me in your lives and shared with all of us your thoughts and feelings.

Originally posted by gallopinghordes


So to my family and friends I say thanks for being in my life and allowing me to be in yours and I love you. By the by I'm including the people in this community who have also allowed me in your lives and shared with all of us your thoughts and feelings.

Very nice post gallopinghordes. We should all feel this way about Thanksgiving.
The holiday is really about so much more than it's origins and history. We should "thankful" for any holiday that allows us to show our love and careing to all the people around us.