Gratitude.

The day after tomorrow is a national holiday. One of gratitude.

It is the lead up to the end of the year holidays and the long dark.

Yep. Thanksgiving.

(I couldn’t decide which was more representative…certainly the Norman Rockwell painting isn’t; so I didn’t include it.)

Real meaning?

I recently read an article from my Alma mater on the “Real Meaning of Thanksgiving”. What I didn’t know is that “since 1970, Native Americans… commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US Thanksgiving holiday.”  It is a “reminder of the genocide of millions of indigenous people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture.” This day of remembrance and spiritual connection protests the racism and oppression which the Native Americans continue to experience.  A similar gathering will take place in San Francisco, California, on Alcatraz Island.

This is because of the concept “described by scholars as settler colonialism”.

Ronald Trosper, professor of American Indian studies at the University of Arizona, presents a short quiz about Thanksgiving Day (three questions only). Although he cites the web site  GlobalSocietyTheory.com, that link doesn’t work. He says “Settler colonialism persists in the ongoing elimination of indigenous populations, and the assertion of state sovereignty and juridical control over their lands.” Although Thanksgiving is an US holiday, “…Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa also are examples of countries formed by settler colonialism.”

Criteria.

Everyone has a criteria for determining what Thanksgiving means to them. What is the value, merit, worth of that program.

Is is just a two day break from work? Is it just another holiday? Or is is about the food? For me, I look at the food and I am thankful. I have not gone hungry. Sometimes it is any food; sometimes it is only green food.

This year, I will be celebrating the holiday with my brother, his wife, his son, and his son’s girlfriend. We will feast of foods for which we are thankful. That does not include turkey.

I made a new pie for gathering. Dulce De Leche any one?

my.