Turkey Day

Today is American Thanksgiving -one of this country's most beloved holidays. Most Americans enjoy a 4-day weekend and make big efforts (traveling across the country sometimes) to share the occasion with friends and family. Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving (albeit in mid-October) but while the traditions are almost identical (big family feast of turkey, potatoes, gravy, squash, cranberries, pumpkin pie, etc), it strikes me that Thanksgiving weekend here is a much bigger deal.

The holiday commemorates the Pilgrims survival through the first winter in the New Land. The Thanksgiving narrative involves a feast, much praise to the Lord (for helping them through their struggle) and a (rather exaggerated) fraternity with Native Americans. Thanksgiving imagery often depicts the Pilgrims sitting to celebrate the bounty of the land with their friendly "Indian" brothers. The story recounts a mutually beneficial relationship between the groups.


In recent decades, however, groups like the United American Indians of New England (UAINE), have challenged the popular myth. The UAINE claims Thanksgiving Day as "The National Day of Mourning" and tries to educate people about the history of the Wampanoag people. UAINE representatives claim the Pilgrims would not have survived their first years in New England without the aid of the Wampanoag and that in return, the American Indian tribe received not friendship but genocide, theft of their lands, and repression.

On one hand, Thanksgiving is a beautiful tradition -the gathering together of family and friends to give thanks for what you have - celebrating the harvest and the bounty of the land. I like the ritual of it -the preparation of all the seasonal fixings and the warmth that comes from breaking bread with loved ones, etc. And yet, it does have some uncomfortable colonial undertones as well. It's got that "all's good for the white people" kind of feel.

And with that said, I think I will go eat the delicious chicken curry dinner Mallar is making us for dinner.