Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The other day one of my colleagues asked me if we celebrated Thanksgiving in Germany  - and although we do not in the classic sense, it got me thinking a little bit about the cultural and religious roots of this holiday that seems to be the most important family holiday in this country.

Apparently it was the day of thanking for both the pilgrim fathers and puritans after the days of fasting and it was brought over from England to New England. Interestingly enough Canada also has a Thanksgiving Day but it is celebrated on the second Monday in October, a fair bit earlier in the year than the American date, the fourth Thursday of November. From what I hear it is also not as excessive as its American equivalent. It may be closer to the 'Erntedankfest' in Germany which basically celebrates bringing in the harvest successfully.

With all the political correctness in the US, I am struggling to understand why and how this holiday has become as big as it is right now. While supposedly on this day Native Americans gave the first settlers food in order to survive the harsh winter, they were then thanked with being prosecuted and decimated throughout the centuries to follow. I just learned that a Native American interest group has actually proclaimed Thanksgiving Day a day of national mourning in 1970.

But as always, I think economics can explain this seeming contradiction of a peaceful family holiday and the slaughtering of millions of Native Americans. With Black Friday having becocme the biggest national shopping day, Thanksgiving has become too much of a economic factor to even think about getting rid of it. Just passing through the city, walking down from Union Square to Little Italy this afternoon, you could really see the approaching holidays in every shopping window, whether it is lingerie, regular clothes or even cakes/foods. At the same time Christmas tree can now be bought at every corner - but what happens is that Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season altogether and there is no limit to the shopping craze that people can fall into. Am glad I get to escape it for a few days though. Happy holidays - whichever you are celebrating, Thanksgiving Day or Day of Mourning?

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