Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the height of the Civil War.  That make this Thanksgiving 160 years old.  But its roots go far deeper, back to 1621 at Plymouth Rock and even thousands of years earlier to the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans!  The colonist from England and the Wampanoag Native American Tribe shared an autumn Harvest Feast and that was deemed the first Thanksgiving.  The cutesy representations with pumpkins, Pilgrims and pompous poultry, those colorful turkeys, tend to mask some of the darker side of the holiday traditions, so as with all things there is a light side, a dark side, and a balance somewhere in between.  We’ll focus on the light and the balance. The separatists from the Mayflower and the Puritans, who arrived soon thereafter brought with them traditions of days of fasting ending in a feast and celebration to thank their god for plenty.

The Native Americans themselves commemorated the fall harvest with a feast and celebration long before the English showed up. Now, to go even further back in time, the ancient Egyptian, the Greeks, Roman’s and even the ancient Jews celebrated the fall harvest.  These ancient civilizations paid homage to their respective gods and goddesses of the harvest. 

For the Egyptians those were Min, God of fertility and harvest, and Renenutet goddess of nourishment and harvest.  The Greeks paid tribute to Demeter, Dionysis, Hermes and even Hades along with Persephone.  The Romans celebrated Mercury and Bacchus.  On the American side of the world the Incans believed that if you don’t respect the Earth then the goddess of fertility, time, and Earth, named Pachamama, will turn into a dragon beneath the mountains to cause earthquakes as a reminder to respect her. 

In the Ancient Semitic tradition there is the festival of Sukkot, which is a weeklong Jewish holiday 5 days after Yom Kippur and commemorates the protection that their god gave to the children of Israel.  Prior to the monotheistic time of the Jews the Amorites worshiped the god Dagon, from the Hebrew and Ugaritic word for “grain”.  Dagon, the Semitic god of fertility and agriculture is given thanks and then he “rests” until the time that fertility is restored in the spring.

In India the harvest is celebrated in the festivals of Lorri and Pongal to give thanks for celebration and sharing

No Matter where you are in the world humanity has expressed gratitude in various ways for the bounty we have all been provided ins some form or another.  Thanksgiving, by tradition, is not just an American holiday but a human tradition that doesn’t only need to be one day a year.  We can all give thanks every day of our lives, through giving and receiving joy, finding a reason to celebrate the world around, as the ancients did, and celebrate humanity as unique individuals that comprise the society we are all a part of.  Today, please join with me in giving thanks for life, love, meaning and friends.  Happy Thanksgiving, every day.