The true meaning of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is about more than turkey and football. It is a chance for families to reconnect. It is the one non-religious holiday that can be pretty much universally celebrated no matter what religious tradition you follow. On Thanksgiving Day we are not Christians, Jews or Muslims, we are Americans. At the same time, it is not a patriotic holiday. It is not a day that celebrates the triumph of one country over another or war or a battle of any kind.

Thanksgiving celebrates the survival of a brave people over the elements. The best part of this piece of history is the cooperation of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. It was a short-lived alliance but an alliance it was and for that one day in that one year, they celebrated the fact that together they had conquered the cold and hunger and survived to begin the planting and growing that made the feast possible.

Thanksgiving celebrations in many families are very much like this first Thanksgiving. Members who don’t always agree, come together to share a meal and for this one day hopefully put aside their differences. Some families have their celebrations in a hotel, where the meal is provided for them and they can just concentrate on catching up on all the changes since last Thanksgiving.

Some families gather at grandma’s house to revel in the family traditions. These may involve baking pies together or it may involve all the different members bringing dishes to share. Depending on the ethnicity of the family, this may be traditional American food or it may be a time to enjoy the traditional food of the motherland.

One thing that makes Thanksgiving so special is that while turkey and stuffing are traditional, even the stuffing isn’t traditional from one family to another. It is just the type of holiday that encourages families to develop their own traditions. The stuffing of the north is the dressing of the south. It can be chestnut, giblets, oysters or just bread.

In times like these when there is a lot of unemployment and people don’t know where their next meal is coming from, more and more people will make Thanksgiving about giving to those who have less than they do. Their family tradition involves serving food at the local soup kitchen. When the hungry have been fed then it is time to go home and gather at the family table.

For some people, Thanksgiving isn’t even about family. It may be that they have no family or that their family is far away. It may be a time to share a meal with friends. Most of all Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be about turkey and football. It can be about being grateful that you can afford to have a meal, that you have good friends or a loving family. Thanksgiving is a great time to take a good look at what you have and about sharing with others.

Thanksgiving is here. You can decide what kind of Thanksgiving you want to have. If you decide that turkey and football need to be a part of it, that is fine. Thanksgiving is a day that offers you the choice of how you want to celebrate.