Of the many stories surrounding the origins of Thanksgiving, most speak about the early settlers and the Indians. All of them tell how the English settlers came to these shores and were having a hard time getting started because of the hardships. They were befriended by some of the Indian tribes and they had a feast and they lived happily ever after. Not quite. It is not set in stone that the first Thanksgiving was even back that far. Some stories say that the feasting on turkey, cranberries, and all the other delightful foods just sort of materialized over time. If my sources are right, it was Abraham Lincoln who decreed that the third Thursday in November would be the official date for this holiday (which is a misnomer because "holiday" stands for holy day; Thanksgiving is not a holy day in any religion I know of!). Nowadays Thanksgiving is most famous for "black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving. (Black Friday is not in any religion I know of either.)
If we are going to have Thanksgiving feasting, why do we have to go shopping afterwards? After eating all that Turkey and other fixin’s a long nap is in order; or maybe a football game on the TV. It is curious that we tend to denigrate all non work days to shopping. Every time a festive date comes around, we are all told to go shopping instead of enjoying the family, just resting, or engaging in something we like to do. Life in this society goes at a rapid pace, but maybe slowing down on the holidays would be a good idea. It would certainly make us happier and less stressed.
Maybe the Indians and the settlers had the right idea way back when they sat around and shared their meager rations and helped each other get through the winter. Sure, times were bad sometimes and there was no air conditioning, but these people had a spirit and determination to go forward to make things better. Somehow Thanksgiving, in the original definition, seems to make more sense. Being thankful for being alive, for having enough to eat, for making new friends, for being healthy, for being able to share with others is much more satisfying than running to the store to buy more junk. I don’t remember any of the stories of Thanksgiving saying that after you stuff yourself with food you go to the big stores and buy all the bargains that you find there. What are we being thankful for?