Thanksgiving
What a strange holiday that is! A day to offer our thanks, in a complete secular way (if one chose so), for what we have. There is no equivalent anywhere in the world.
I did not always celebrate Thanksgiving. It seemed a weird celebration with strange food. At the time, I was a student in New York and had worked through the day and came back to find the super-intendant of the building in the lobby. He asked me if I had celebrated and I answered truthfully that I had not, using the quietness of the office to get even more done in the day. Not a big deal really. I will not forget the expression of sorrow that came onto his face. He was truly sorry for me. He shook his head and made me promise that I would not that again, not partaking into the celebration of gratefulness. What struck me that day was that he was clearly an immigrant from some South American country, his English was still mixed with Spanish. Nevertheless this was an holiday that he could not conceive neglecting. He was the one who made me think about Thanksgiving differently. As the bond of the nation, the feeling of belonging, and a nice occasion to get together with friends. I kept my promise and have celebrated ever since. A complete American.
posted by Just Looking at 10:59 PM
1 Comments:
An American diplomat, Dr. Demarche, writes that July 4th and Thanksgiving are the two holidays he misses most. Christians celebrate it, my family celebrates it, Muslims celebrate it. Even some American Indians celebrate it, for it was also a celbration of the friendship of peoples, before darker incidents occurred to sunder them.
It is a truly American holiday, for why did so many peoples leave their homes for America in the first place, if not better their lives? And so we give thanks with prayer and such a feast that Thanksgiving is, as Art Buchwald wrote, the one day of the year that Americans eat better than the French do.
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