Having written several editorials from the perspective that Thanksgiving is truly the holiday to stop and give thanks for the bounty most of us enjoy, this year we thought we would make a light-hearted effort to dispel some of the long held myths of the holiday.
In short order, we discovered there are no end of websites and resources devoted to just that topic.
Some of the more playful commentaries point out things like the Pilgrims did not wear all black and white with funny hats and buckles on their shoes, they did not have forks, nor did they have turkey at Thanksgiving. In fact nobody knows what the Pilgrims ate at their Thanksgiving although venison was likely on the menu.
Some of the more depressing resources point out that what most Americans celebrate as time of bounty and joy, others point to as day of mourning, citing the decline of free Native American cultures, and the rise of American imperialism.
All of this misses the point and brings us back to the where we started.
No matter where the First Thanksgiving was held, San Elizario, Tex., Berkeley Plantation, Va. or Plymouth, Mass.; or when, 1598, 1621 or 1623, or who made it a holiday (Abraham Lincoln 1863), or who brought the turkey, (the Victorians), Thanksgiving has come down to us as a time of celebration and we should take it.
Times are hard, and they will to doubt get harder before they get better, but we still live in the greatest nation on earth, where food, water and security are mostly matters of routine and not luxuries.
It is true that many people in the world, and many Americans, do without on a daily basis, but for all of us, as best we can, this is still the time to pause and give thanks for all we have.
