Why We Give Thanks

Today is officially turkey day. Thanksgiving. Football day.

Whatever you call it, it's the day we give thanks for being Americans, for God being up there, for our family, our friends, our good health, our good fortune, and just about anything else we can give thanks for.

But, or so it seems to me, Thanksgiving has really lost the meaning of what it was originally intended to be. Originally, it was an homage to the Native Americans that helped the Puritans out when they would have otherwise starved to death. And, to repay them for their hospitality, we stole their lands and murdered their ancestors.

I apologize. This post is not meant to go that way. What this article is about is just to make sure that we don't lose the spirit that embodies Thanksgiving. It's to make sure that this holiday does not go the way of Christmas, with its mass-marketing campaigns and total disregard for the tradition and history behind it. Thanksgiving may just be a day where we make turky and stuffing and watch the Lions continually lose. But it didn't start that way.

Thanksgiving was originally created as a holiday to honor the pilgrims and their plight through the first Thanksgiving (which, more likely, happened in September), not as another way for corporations to make more money. Because that's where Thanksgiving has gone. We have forgotten all about the traditions that make up the holiday. Now, it's a day where we stuff our faces and watch football and make sure we have enough leftovers to feed us should a nuclear war break out.

But that's not what it's about. It's about tradition. When you sit down to eat (as most of you already have), make sure you give thanks to the Native Americans for helping us out in our time of need. Had it not been for them, the pilgrims would not have made it through the winter and we probably would not have Massachusetts right now. Make sure you apologize for the sins of our forefathers, who took their lands and raped their women. Make sure that you know what you are celebrating when you sit down to that wonderful turkey dinner.

It's something that is slowly slipping through the cracks of time and globalization. It's a tradition that we cannot afford to lose--because if we do, we lose who we are as Americans.

So give thanks for everything in your life, and make sure you remember why exactly we are celebrating--and thank accordingly.

-Anteaus