Happy Turkey Day November 27, 2008 5:29 PM Subscribe
Happy Thanksgiving, Metafilter.
Is that comma in the right place? I'm pretty sure it's in the right place, but I could be wrong.
Is that comma in the right place? I'm pretty sure it's in the right place, but I could be wrong.
What is Thanksgiving? what does it mean, socially? when you say 'happy thanksgiving' to someone, as an American, what are you trying to say?
(Note, serious question, I have no real idea what thanksgiving is, apart from turkey)
posted by wilful at 5:34 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
(Note, serious question, I have no real idea what thanksgiving is, apart from turkey)
posted by wilful at 5:34 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Thanks!
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:36 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:36 PM on November 27, 2008
giving
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:37 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:37 PM on November 27, 2008
I'm grateful for a dash of humor with my pedantry; bittersweet pecan pie with the pecans a little overtoasted; the continued longevity of my elderly cat; the kindness of our neighbors who just sent over a big bowl of Korean noodles, and the other ones who fixed the sagging fence without even asking; for pomegranates; for my brother's easy and complete recovery from surgery last night, my roof for not leaking, for all my clients and colleagues, my own good health and that of my beloveds. For the lively and creative communities of Portland, and all the people who work at all levels of government, for everyone who works so hard and conspire to bless me and meet my needs and support and enlighten and protect me. For my friends. For the wonders of creativity and ingenuity all around me. For the living earth, for the smell of the rain. For waking up this morning. For all of you.
posted by ottereroticist at 5:49 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by ottereroticist at 5:49 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
when you say 'happy thanksgiving' to someone, as an American, what are you trying to say?
"Enjoy the get-together with your family and/or friends, and the calm before the storm that is Holiday Shopping Season."
posted by CKmtl at 5:53 PM on November 27, 2008
"Enjoy the get-together with your family and/or friends, and the calm before the storm that is Holiday Shopping Season."
posted by CKmtl at 5:53 PM on November 27, 2008
I am thankful for roux in a jar.
posted by ColdChef at 5:56 PM on November 27, 2008 [4 favorites]
posted by ColdChef at 5:56 PM on November 27, 2008 [4 favorites]
I am grateful no one tried to hack the site or seriously fuck anything up this year.
Generally speaking Happy Thanksgiving just means "hope you had a nice day doing something nice" since most people in the US have the day off.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:57 PM on November 27, 2008
Generally speaking Happy Thanksgiving just means "hope you had a nice day doing something nice" since most people in the US have the day off.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:57 PM on November 27, 2008
What is Thanksgiving? what does it mean, socially? when you say 'happy thanksgiving' to someone, as an American, what are you trying to say?
It's a good time to count your blessings, and let them know you think they're blessings rather than the curse on your lineage they seem to be the rest of the year. Historically, it's an awkward celebration of the first winter the 'Pilgrims' spent on this continent. I learned in preschool that they would have died hungry, cold deaths were it not for the generosity of Native Americans who welcomed them to their harvest table.
I'm thankful for MetaFilter, and those who populate it.
posted by carsonb at 6:15 PM on November 27, 2008
It's a good time to count your blessings, and let them know you think they're blessings rather than the curse on your lineage they seem to be the rest of the year. Historically, it's an awkward celebration of the first winter the 'Pilgrims' spent on this continent. I learned in preschool that they would have died hungry, cold deaths were it not for the generosity of Native Americans who welcomed them to their harvest table.
I'm thankful for MetaFilter, and those who populate it.
posted by carsonb at 6:15 PM on November 27, 2008
I'm thankful for friends and family. I'm thankful that the turkey I smoked (first time doing it by myself) turned out so well. Thankful for metafilter, which entertains and educates me. Thankful that I have five kinds of pie to look forward to.
posted by rtha at 6:24 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by rtha at 6:24 PM on November 27, 2008
HI I'M FROM METAFILTER AND I COULD OVERTHANK A PLATE OF BEANS
posted by DU at 6:27 PM on November 27, 2008 [9 favorites]
posted by DU at 6:27 PM on November 27, 2008 [9 favorites]
I'm thankful America was colonized the shit out of and the natives killed, forcibly relocated into poverty, and generally otherwise fucked continuing to this very day.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 6:35 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 6:35 PM on November 27, 2008
*high fives TOCT*
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:44 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:44 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
I'm thankful I'm not TheOnlyCoolTim. Or Canadian.
posted by Sailormom at 6:56 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by Sailormom at 6:56 PM on November 27, 2008
Yeah, sometimes I think about things too.
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:00 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:00 PM on November 27, 2008
America was colonized the shit out of and the natives killed, forcibly relocated into poverty, and generally otherwise fucked continuing to this very day.
Someone should make this into a video game, but with the option to play as the white man or Native American. At the end of various levels the big bosses would be either a pro or anti NA President, depending on the character you're playing.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:05 PM on November 27, 2008
Someone should make this into a video game, but with the option to play as the white man or Native American. At the end of various levels the big bosses would be either a pro or anti NA President, depending on the character you're playing.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:05 PM on November 27, 2008
What is Thanksgiving? what does it mean, socially?
For those of us in retail it means spending the day psyching yourself up for the hellish eight hours that lay before you.
posted by jonmc at 7:09 PM on November 27, 2008
For those of us in retail it means spending the day psyching yourself up for the hellish eight hours that lay before you.
posted by jonmc at 7:09 PM on November 27, 2008
(and if you're one of those people who thinks it's fun to get up at 4AM for one of those Early Bird Special Black Friday sales, so you can trample an old lady to save $20 on a crystal encrusted iPhone holster or some platinum ben wa balls, seek help.)
posted by jonmc at 7:15 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 7:15 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Happy Thanksgiving American MeFites. We got our American pal over and we're cooking him an atypical thanksgiving feast of roast duck... with stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, and eggnog.
posted by ageispolis at 7:15 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by ageispolis at 7:15 PM on November 27, 2008
For those of us in retail it means spending the day psyching yourself up for the hellish eight hours that lay before you.
You SHOULD be damn thankful if tomorrow is hellish in the retail industry.
posted by gman at 7:15 PM on November 27, 2008
You SHOULD be damn thankful if tomorrow is hellish in the retail industry.
posted by gman at 7:15 PM on November 27, 2008
Someone should make this into a video game, but with the option to play as the white man or Native American.
Not as action-RPG or linear, but there's always Colonization or AOE3:WC.
posted by CKmtl at 7:16 PM on November 27, 2008
Not as action-RPG or linear, but there's always Colonization or AOE3:WC.
posted by CKmtl at 7:16 PM on November 27, 2008
I'm thankful I just flipped by FOX and Sarah Palin is being interviewed at home.
posted by gman at 7:18 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by gman at 7:18 PM on November 27, 2008
You SHOULD be damn thankful if tomorrow is hellish in the retail industry.
Tommorrow will be my 13th Black Friday in retail. In good economic times or bad, it's still a motherfucker of a day.
posted by jonmc at 7:21 PM on November 27, 2008
Tommorrow will be my 13th Black Friday in retail. In good economic times or bad, it's still a motherfucker of a day.
posted by jonmc at 7:21 PM on November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving, you sexy American motherfuckers!
Also, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and thoroughly, completely secular and unnationalistic which goes a long way towards explaining why it's my favorite American holiday (Iceland does Christmas and New Year's much better and the other holidays tend to be nothing more than excuses for me to travel somewhere in the US).
posted by Kattullus at 7:42 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
Also, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and thoroughly, completely secular and unnationalistic which goes a long way towards explaining why it's my favorite American holiday (Iceland does Christmas and New Year's much better and the other holidays tend to be nothing more than excuses for me to travel somewhere in the US).
posted by Kattullus at 7:42 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
Thanksgiving was about giving thanks to God, so I don't know that it actually started out secular, but whatever.
I myself am thankful my husband cooked the turkey. It was literally the best one I've ever had, moist and tasty, and it looked like something out of a cooking magazine when he took it out of the oven. Mmmmm....turkey.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:07 PM on November 27, 2008
I myself am thankful my husband cooked the turkey. It was literally the best one I've ever had, moist and tasty, and it looked like something out of a cooking magazine when he took it out of the oven. Mmmmm....turkey.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:07 PM on November 27, 2008
Someone on television said: "Thanksgiving is the time of year when families get together to start worrying about Christmas."
posted by amyms at 8:18 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by amyms at 8:18 PM on November 27, 2008
I am thankful that Sarah Palin was the Republican pick for the V.P. candidacy this year!
posted by ericb at 8:35 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by ericb at 8:35 PM on November 27, 2008
What is Thanksgiving?
I think it's like what Christmas is to heathens such as yourself.
posted by pompomtom at 8:35 PM on November 27, 2008
I think it's like what Christmas is to heathens such as yourself.
posted by pompomtom at 8:35 PM on November 27, 2008
In my family, Thanksgiving is the day when I play out the mythic victory of the gourmet over the dietician. Every year. It never gets old.
I am thankful for my sanity, all my metafilter friends, and deep fried pumpkin pies.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:40 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I am thankful for my sanity, all my metafilter friends, and deep fried pumpkin pies.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:40 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
This is what Thanksgiving means to me.
It's Liz McCartney dedicated to helping Hurricane Katrina survivors in St. Bernard Parish.
It's Tad Agoglia providing immediate help to areas hit by natural disasters.
It's Marie Da Silva, a Los Angeles nanny who funds a school in her native Malawi for children orphaned by AIDS.
It's Phymean Noun who offers hundreds of children who work in a Cambodian trash dump a way out through free schooling.
It's David Puckett bringing ongoing prosthetic and orthotic care to those in need in southeastern Mexico, free of charge.
It's Carolyn LeCroy who started the Messages Project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents.
It's Maria Ruiz bringing food, clothing and toys for hundreds of impoverished children and their families in Juarez, Mexico.
It's Anne Mahlum who used to run by homeless men each morning. Today, she's running with them and motivating them.
It's Viola Vaughn, whose "10,000 Girls" program is helping Senegalese girls succeed in school and learn business skills.
posted by netbros at 9:05 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
It's Liz McCartney dedicated to helping Hurricane Katrina survivors in St. Bernard Parish.
It's Tad Agoglia providing immediate help to areas hit by natural disasters.
It's Marie Da Silva, a Los Angeles nanny who funds a school in her native Malawi for children orphaned by AIDS.
It's Phymean Noun who offers hundreds of children who work in a Cambodian trash dump a way out through free schooling.
It's David Puckett bringing ongoing prosthetic and orthotic care to those in need in southeastern Mexico, free of charge.
It's Carolyn LeCroy who started the Messages Project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents.
It's Maria Ruiz bringing food, clothing and toys for hundreds of impoverished children and their families in Juarez, Mexico.
It's Anne Mahlum who used to run by homeless men each morning. Today, she's running with them and motivating them.
It's Viola Vaughn, whose "10,000 Girls" program is helping Senegalese girls succeed in school and learn business skills.
posted by netbros at 9:05 PM on November 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
R. Mutt's comment reminds me of a famous logic anecdote.
J.L. Austin was giving a talk on the logic of ordinary language one day, and observed that it was odd that a double negative ("Not not") always implies a positive, but a double positive never implies a negative. To this observation, a philosopher in the audience replied, "Yeah, yeah..."
Happy thanksgiving, to those who study logic and those who do not study it.
posted by voltairemodern at 10:10 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
J.L. Austin was giving a talk on the logic of ordinary language one day, and observed that it was odd that a double negative ("Not not") always implies a positive, but a double positive never implies a negative. To this observation, a philosopher in the audience replied, "Yeah, yeah..."
Happy thanksgiving, to those who study logic and those who do not study it.
posted by voltairemodern at 10:10 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
When an American says Happy Thanksgiving, what they really mean is:
(to a british person) Thank goodness my ancestors defeated your ancestors and drove you back across the pond!
(to a canadian) Thank you for all the lovely land and natural resources that we're gonna manifest-destiny from you pretty soon
(to a Mexican) Thank you for Texas, sorry we had to kill so many of you for it!
(to a Russian) Thank you for communism, and for turning us into a superpower!
and so on.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:17 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by blue_beetle at 10:17 PM on November 27, 2008
What is Thanksgiving? what does it mean, socially? when you say 'happy thanksgiving' to someone, as an American, what are you trying to say?
(Note, serious question, I have no real idea what thanksgiving is, apart from turkey)
I'll take a shot at this, since your question is obviously incredibly genuine, and it would take a comicbook-level super-mega-genius to possibly begin to deduce the meaning of the holiday by simply studying the name.
Today is the day when we celebrate being The Worst Country In the History of the World. I got up this morning, and like every morning, said my prayer to the portrait of president Bush by my bed. Then I got outside, got in my 4mpg Hummer and drove around looking for a native American. I found one, a Sioux named Billy Grey Elk. I ran him over with my Hummer, reversing again and again until I was sure he was dead.
Then I drove home and ate a big meal with my family. Drinking the the blood of third-world children, we toasted to the fact that every single one of us is a worse human being than any other person who has ever lived in any time in history in any other country in the world, and gave thanks that we could see the truth so clearly and that there were absolutely, definitely no shades of grey or nuances to concern ourselves with.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:39 PM on November 27, 2008
(Note, serious question, I have no real idea what thanksgiving is, apart from turkey)
I'll take a shot at this, since your question is obviously incredibly genuine, and it would take a comicbook-level super-mega-genius to possibly begin to deduce the meaning of the holiday by simply studying the name.
Today is the day when we celebrate being The Worst Country In the History of the World. I got up this morning, and like every morning, said my prayer to the portrait of president Bush by my bed. Then I got outside, got in my 4mpg Hummer and drove around looking for a native American. I found one, a Sioux named Billy Grey Elk. I ran him over with my Hummer, reversing again and again until I was sure he was dead.
Then I drove home and ate a big meal with my family. Drinking the the blood of third-world children, we toasted to the fact that every single one of us is a worse human being than any other person who has ever lived in any time in history in any other country in the world, and gave thanks that we could see the truth so clearly and that there were absolutely, definitely no shades of grey or nuances to concern ourselves with.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:39 PM on November 27, 2008
More seriously:
I was invited to breakfast with some friends of friends. We ate delicious Mexican food. The hosts had just moved to L.A. from Ohio. They said a Christian prayer before the meal, but completely respected my decision not to join in, as I'm an atheist. They also had a copy of Obama's book on their shelf.
Later, I met up with my other friend. We had lunch at a diner, then saw the brilliant film "Synedoche, New York," and had a really interesting conversation about it afterwards.
There was no turkey or football involved at any point. I'm thankful to live with such great people, in such a diverse city, in a country that is so much more than the sum of a bunch of a cheap stereotypes.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:47 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I was invited to breakfast with some friends of friends. We ate delicious Mexican food. The hosts had just moved to L.A. from Ohio. They said a Christian prayer before the meal, but completely respected my decision not to join in, as I'm an atheist. They also had a copy of Obama's book on their shelf.
Later, I met up with my other friend. We had lunch at a diner, then saw the brilliant film "Synedoche, New York," and had a really interesting conversation about it afterwards.
There was no turkey or football involved at any point. I'm thankful to live with such great people, in such a diverse city, in a country that is so much more than the sum of a bunch of a cheap stereotypes.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:47 PM on November 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm thankful I'm not ... Canadian.
Whatevs, man.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:06 PM on November 27, 2008
Whatevs, man.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:06 PM on November 27, 2008
My mother says Thanksgiving is a way to prevent shops from starting Christmas songs and decoration too early. She wishes we had a convenient analogue here in Australia.
posted by jacalata at 11:24 PM on November 27, 2008
posted by jacalata at 11:24 PM on November 27, 2008
It is the day when you get a newspaper stuffed with more ads than the turkey has bread crumbs. It is raining in Portland, but the TV news showed people camped in yurts and such outside stores waiting to be the door busters in the morning.
We had a lovely dinner with the Portland area members of the family and that is enough to be thankful for.
Star of the event was Abby Sciuto, a soft, furry 8 week old yellow Lab. Her feet rarely touched the floor :-)
posted by Cranberry at 11:55 PM on November 27, 2008
We had a lovely dinner with the Portland area members of the family and that is enough to be thankful for.
Star of the event was Abby Sciuto, a soft, furry 8 week old yellow Lab. Her feet rarely touched the floor :-)
posted by Cranberry at 11:55 PM on November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving at our place was our newest family member's first Thanksgiving, which upped the enjoyment factor all around, in my opinion.
posted by Lynsey at 12:22 AM on November 28, 2008
posted by Lynsey at 12:22 AM on November 28, 2008
A leftover sandwich the next day made with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, with lots of mayonaise.
That is the one and only thing I miss about not having a real Thanksgiving.
posted by bardic at 1:11 AM on November 28, 2008
That is the one and only thing I miss about not having a real Thanksgiving.
posted by bardic at 1:11 AM on November 28, 2008
I'm thankful that Canadian thanksgiving is in October so I have 2.5 months to lose the over indulgence weight before Christmas feasting begins.
posted by zarah at 6:17 AM on November 28, 2008
posted by zarah at 6:17 AM on November 28, 2008
I'm thankful that I just managed to cook a turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (apple and sausage!), and spicy green beans, all in Japan, using a 9"x9" toaster oven and a two burner stove.
That, and I'm thankful I had friends and a beautiful wife to share (the day after) Thanksgiving.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:47 AM on November 28, 2008
That, and I'm thankful I had friends and a beautiful wife to share (the day after) Thanksgiving.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:47 AM on November 28, 2008
We had a great thanksgiving here in London. An American friend was visiting. We bought a turkey roast at borough market, cooked and basted it in our oven, made some mashed potatoes and stuffing with gravy and cranberry sauce too!
posted by vacapinta at 7:08 AM on November 28, 2008
posted by vacapinta at 7:08 AM on November 28, 2008
Where there ever any thanksgiving songs relating to famine relief?
posted by biffa at 7:16 AM on November 28, 2008
posted by biffa at 7:16 AM on November 28, 2008
I gave thanks in October.
(its like charity, right - I gave at the office?)
posted by sandraregina at 9:54 AM on November 28, 2008
(its like charity, right - I gave at the office?)
posted by sandraregina at 9:54 AM on November 28, 2008
I am so thankful. I just got a MAJORLY AWESOME JOB YO!
posted by By The Grace of God at 10:05 AM on November 28, 2008
posted by By The Grace of God at 10:05 AM on November 28, 2008
Uh, Thanksgiving was in October.
posted by orange swan at 10:11 AM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 10:11 AM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm thankful I had friends and a beautiful wife to share
That's great, but I really don't need to hear about your personal life.
posted by lukemeister at 10:16 AM on November 28, 2008
That's great, but I really don't need to hear about your personal life.
posted by lukemeister at 10:16 AM on November 28, 2008
I'm thankful I had friends and a beautiful wife to share
lucky friends
posted by found missing at 10:25 AM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
lucky friends
posted by found missing at 10:25 AM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
By the way, Ghidorah, Happy Thanksgiving!
I just realized you may not have had time to develop a hard snarky shell.
posted by lukemeister at 10:39 AM on November 28, 2008
I just realized you may not have had time to develop a hard snarky shell.
posted by lukemeister at 10:39 AM on November 28, 2008
Thanksgiving means it's one of the two days per year I start drinking before noon (the other Christmas). My extended family is perfectly nice but I need medication to face a day completely filled with them and don't think it's worth seeking out a prescription just to cover those two days. Both holidays end up being favorite times so long as I can maintain a low grade buzz.
posted by Carbolic at 6:00 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by Carbolic at 6:00 PM on November 28, 2008
we're cooking him an atypical thanksgiving feast of roast duck
Hey, that's what we had for Thanksgiving! (I don't like turkey. I am kinda the Scrooge of Thanksgiving.)
I remember being eight years old and thinking "Wait. If the Pilgrims and the Indians were such good friends... where are the Indians? Why aren't they still sharing their food?" I still think it's a lousy holiday story that totally glosses over the genocide of the American Indians.
But, y'know, PIE.
Oh yeah, and I'm thankful lots of stuff - including all MeFites Great and Small!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:01 PM on November 28, 2008
Hey, that's what we had for Thanksgiving! (I don't like turkey. I am kinda the Scrooge of Thanksgiving.)
I remember being eight years old and thinking "Wait. If the Pilgrims and the Indians were such good friends... where are the Indians? Why aren't they still sharing their food?" I still think it's a lousy holiday story that totally glosses over the genocide of the American Indians.
But, y'know, PIE.
Oh yeah, and I'm thankful lots of stuff - including all MeFites Great and Small!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:01 PM on November 28, 2008
I had a delicious dinner at my parents with my inlaws as well.
However. My mother no longer hands out turkey leftovers for me to take home and make a sandwich the next day. Leftover turkey in a sandwich with a bit of Branston Pickle...sigh.
I am grateful none of my friends have offered to share their wives with me. Lovely people all, but...squick.
posted by maxwelton at 6:30 PM on November 29, 2008
However. My mother no longer hands out turkey leftovers for me to take home and make a sandwich the next day. Leftover turkey in a sandwich with a bit of Branston Pickle...sigh.
I am grateful none of my friends have offered to share their wives with me. Lovely people all, but...squick.
posted by maxwelton at 6:30 PM on November 29, 2008
I spent Thanksgiving afternoon driving. I ended up in Opelousas, LA, just 60 or so miles from our very own Coldchef on Black Friday. He was kind enough to meet me at my motel and take me to dinner. A prince among men, indeed.
posted by pjern at 7:06 AM on November 30, 2008
posted by pjern at 7:06 AM on November 30, 2008
Bah! To hell with all of you misanthropes getting all grumpy and doom-y now that the Most Wonderful Time Of the Year is upon us. It's all gloom until the first thaw then you're out skipping and picking wildflowers. Damned fair-weather fiends!
posted by The Whelk at 10:05 AM on November 30, 2008
posted by The Whelk at 10:05 AM on November 30, 2008
Thanksgiving is laid back. You can be pretty sure that just about everyone will celebrate in some way or another, so you aren't stepping into any potentially offensive or presumptive potholes by wishing somebody a happy one. It can flex and morph to fit into just about any intra-American cultural tradition. It doesn't involve buying gifts or having a 'perfect' celebration or making anyone's wishes come true - it just involves good food and good company. It comes at a nice time of year for a breather.
As to the Pilgrims and the Indians, the story about Plymouth, MA is a whole lot more complicated in real history than in the school version. Their celebration was really not the same one we are holding today - over the four centuries passed since the Plymouth colony was established we have moshed together two Puritan observances, the holy day of thanksgiving, which was spent in prayer, and the harvest supper, which was a celebration of the harvest. In 1621, the Plymouth colony celebrated a first harvest, but not a day of Thanksgiving - what they considered a Thanksgiving would not be held for another two years, and then was in July and probably not a feast but a day of prayer.
A Thanksgiving could fall at any time during the year, though, whenever religious leaders declared it. And the harvest feast itself was nothing but a continuation of harvest home or similar harvest celebrations from England and Europe that had gone on for countless centuries, as is usual in agrarian societies.
There are only a couple of extant records of what the 1621 meal at Plymouth was, and the story of this "First Thanksgiving" wasn't even tied to the late-fall harvest celebration until the nineteenth century, when revivalists went in search of quaint stories to lend import to contemporary celebrations. What actually happened was that the randomly occurring cycle of days of Humiliation and Days of Thanksgiving eventually simplified into a pattern of once-a-year catchall events, and colonists started to observe Thanksgivings in the fall by the late 1600s and associated them with harvest feasts - while Days of Humiliation, involving fasting and mortification, were in spring (America has pretty much left those at the roadside of history). Every state and sometimes even every town or parish declared different days of Thanksgiving, as it suited them, until Lincoln established it as a national holiday on a recurring schedule in 1863, probably because it suited his efforts during the Civil War to create unified national traditions and observances.
Plimoth Plantation has a really good writeup on the origins of the holiday and how the standard fall harvest observance came to be linked to the Plymouth colony's celebration and not the many other contributing customs:
The article goes on to talk about how it was the DAR, among others, that identified the Pilgrims as the most desirable group to stand in for the varied reality of the makeup of America's original colonists, and helped to lay the groundwork for assertions that Thanksgiving began at Plymouth. However arbitrary that is, that doesn't take away the factual point that natives did indeed share food with the Plymouth colonists (only a minority of whom were Pilgrims) and other colonists, and also gave them useful pointers on hunting, fishing, shellfishing, and cultivation techniques, just as the colonists provided natives with firearms and gunpowder which they swiftly adopted for use in hunting and warfare . Natives observed harvest celebrations, too, and probably brought their own cultural significance to any feasts that they took part in. But the relations between the two groups were complex and constantly changing, so it's very hard to make simple statements about what happened. The thing is that the meal at Plymouth is so draped in myth and creative interpretation that it doesn't make a lot of sense to look just at that one event with so little detail to describe it as the starting point for this holiday, despite what some nineteenth-century wishful thinkers desired.
posted by Miko at 8:25 PM on November 30, 2008 [4 favorites]
As to the Pilgrims and the Indians, the story about Plymouth, MA is a whole lot more complicated in real history than in the school version. Their celebration was really not the same one we are holding today - over the four centuries passed since the Plymouth colony was established we have moshed together two Puritan observances, the holy day of thanksgiving, which was spent in prayer, and the harvest supper, which was a celebration of the harvest. In 1621, the Plymouth colony celebrated a first harvest, but not a day of Thanksgiving - what they considered a Thanksgiving would not be held for another two years, and then was in July and probably not a feast but a day of prayer.
A Thanksgiving could fall at any time during the year, though, whenever religious leaders declared it. And the harvest feast itself was nothing but a continuation of harvest home or similar harvest celebrations from England and Europe that had gone on for countless centuries, as is usual in agrarian societies.
There are only a couple of extant records of what the 1621 meal at Plymouth was, and the story of this "First Thanksgiving" wasn't even tied to the late-fall harvest celebration until the nineteenth century, when revivalists went in search of quaint stories to lend import to contemporary celebrations. What actually happened was that the randomly occurring cycle of days of Humiliation and Days of Thanksgiving eventually simplified into a pattern of once-a-year catchall events, and colonists started to observe Thanksgivings in the fall by the late 1600s and associated them with harvest feasts - while Days of Humiliation, involving fasting and mortification, were in spring (America has pretty much left those at the roadside of history). Every state and sometimes even every town or parish declared different days of Thanksgiving, as it suited them, until Lincoln established it as a national holiday on a recurring schedule in 1863, probably because it suited his efforts during the Civil War to create unified national traditions and observances.
Plimoth Plantation has a really good writeup on the origins of the holiday and how the standard fall harvest observance came to be linked to the Plymouth colony's celebration and not the many other contributing customs:
Prior to the mid-1800s, Thanksgiving had nothing to do with the 1621 harvest celebration, Pilgrims or Native People. Thanksgiving started as a traditional New England holiday that celebrated family and community. It descended from Puritan days of fasting and festive rejoicing. The governor of each colony or state declared a day of thanksgiving each autumn, to give thanks for general blessings. As New Englanders moved west in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, they took their holiday with them. After the harvest, governors across the country proclaimed individual Thanksgivings, and families traveled back to their original homes for family reunions, church services and large meals....
The Pilgrims, Wampanoag and Thanksgiving were first linked together in 1841, when historian Alexander Young rediscovered Edward Winslow’s account of the 1621 harvest celebration. The account was part of the text of a letter to a friend in England, later published in Mourt’s Relation (1622). Young isolated the description of the harvest celebration, and identified it as the precedent for the New England Thanksgiving....In the 1800s, battles between pioneers and Native People trying to hold onto their land colored images of Thanksgiving. Images of Natives and colonists sharing a meal did not fit with contemporary scenes of violence between pioneers and Natives in the west. While there were a couple of images showing a “First Thanksgiving” with Pilgrims and Natives together, such scenes were not common until after the end of the “Indian Wars” in the 1890s. The association between Pilgrims, Natives and Thanksgiving became stronger after 1890, when the census revealed the western frontier to be closed, and the “Indian Wars” ended.
By the late 1800s, America was changing, and the image of the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving became useful history
The article goes on to talk about how it was the DAR, among others, that identified the Pilgrims as the most desirable group to stand in for the varied reality of the makeup of America's original colonists, and helped to lay the groundwork for assertions that Thanksgiving began at Plymouth. However arbitrary that is, that doesn't take away the factual point that natives did indeed share food with the Plymouth colonists (only a minority of whom were Pilgrims) and other colonists, and also gave them useful pointers on hunting, fishing, shellfishing, and cultivation techniques, just as the colonists provided natives with firearms and gunpowder which they swiftly adopted for use in hunting and warfare . Natives observed harvest celebrations, too, and probably brought their own cultural significance to any feasts that they took part in. But the relations between the two groups were complex and constantly changing, so it's very hard to make simple statements about what happened. The thing is that the meal at Plymouth is so draped in myth and creative interpretation that it doesn't make a lot of sense to look just at that one event with so little detail to describe it as the starting point for this holiday, despite what some nineteenth-century wishful thinkers desired.
posted by Miko at 8:25 PM on November 30, 2008 [4 favorites]
Anya : Well, I think that's a shame. I love a ritual sacrifice.
Buffy : It's not really a one of those.
Anya : To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice, with pie.
------
Willow : Buffy, earlier you agreed with me about Thanksgiving. It's a sham. It's all about death.
Buffy : It is a sham, but it's a sham with yams. It's a yam sham.
Willow : You're not gonna jokey-rhyme your way out of this.
posted by The Whelk at 8:54 PM on November 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
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posted by nola at 5:33 PM on November 27, 2008