Thanksgiving Day

Last updated on: November 23, 2020 at 10:35 am by C. Don Jones

Thanksgiving Day 2020-11-23T10:35:37-06:00 C. Don Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Thanksgiving Day is controversial. No one should be surprised by it. I have often thought that the day points we the people to some sort of ideal community. Of course, even an ideal community is controversial. It should be. The question is, “ideal for whom?” But, the question is too vague. Some ideal views are not worth consideration.

“Political Correctness”

A common meme says that political correctness is a way of saying, “Don’t be a jerk.” Others claim that political correctness is about muddying up the common sense of what is and what is not. Discrimination, we are told, is a good thing because it helps us determine “right from wrong.”

I am inclined to agree. But, must one be a jerk about it? The Thanksgiving Day story comes from a time when the native inhabitants of America were divided into two groups – good Indians and bad Indians. And we must remember Teddy Roosevelt’s claim, “I don’t go so far as to think the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every ten are.” Talk about being a jerk.

Protesting Thanksgiving Day

I am not a big fan of protests even though I have participated in a few. I believe we risk misjudging a situation if we decided to protest too quickly. Russell Means intended, for instance, to organize protests against the film Dances with Wolves. As he began organizing against what he saw as “Lawrence of the Plains,” he discovered many members of his community favored the film. Finding out where people are in their thinking is important in order to lead them.

Thanksgiving Day as Story

Why do we tell stories? We tell them to explain why we do certain things. The Pilgrim story explains pumpkin pie, Turkey and oyster dressing, and other traditional foods. Thanksgiving Day is a favorite holiday of mine. But I have never felt the need to make a pilgrimage (yes, pun intended) to Plymouth. Because, ultimately the story does not matter to me.

Why doesn’t it matter? Because the story is only one of the possible stories we could tell. However, we don’t know this because it is never discussed beyond the myth. There’s the myth and then the eating. We apparently have a feast to remember someone else giving thanks.

Story and History

History is always more nuanced than myth. But it is the myth that motivates observances and festivals. Holy Week is not a time to discuss the different trial, death, and resurrection stories of the gospels. We tell the generalized story that is based on the common elements of each gospel and combines a few others. There is no “just how it happened” on Good Friday. Liturgically, the story from the fourth gospel is told. This gospel serves as the source for the sunrise service. But the later service on Easter Sunday centers on another Resurrection story. Usually, only the pastor sees the differences.

The point I am trying to make is that none of these issues of the text changes the celebration or invalidates it. The pilgrim story has problems. The “good Indian” caricature is one problem. Another is “the shining city on a hill” version of white nationalism. Pilgrims and Puritans are confused by our imagery for the holiday. Most of the images are of Puritan men and women. The Plymouth Colony was made of a people with no creed or practice of “plainness.” These were Christians of the devotional variety. The First Church of Plymouth is Unitarian Universalist.

Day of Unity

I write these things today because the history of Thanksgiving Day is one about unity. Thanksgiving days were common in the United States until 1863 when one day was designated for the whole country. The Civil War gave us the Thanksgiving Day every American knows. When the world was plunged into a second World War, The United States made a formal day by Congressional action. Thanksgiving Day is about the unity needed to overcome destructive divisiveness. If the myth has become divisive, it should go as well. Replace it with history and allow a new myth to grow in its’ place.

Previous Post

November 19, 2020

Ugliness Goes To The Bone

Next Post

November 30, 2020 My Hillbilly Eulogy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the main symbol of Christianity?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The cross Lion Rainbow Olive branch