It’s more than a meal

ERIN BRINDLE

Editor-in-Chief

Thanksgiving is a celebration of everything we should hold near and dear as a society. While not an officially observed by the U.S. until 1777, the original Thanksgiving of 1621 consisted of a three day celebration between the Wampanoag Tribe and European settlers after the Wampanoag helped the pilgrims to survive in the harsh new world.  

While relations between Native Peoples and colonists would greatly deteriorate in the future, that does not negate the spirit of camaraderie and gratitude established in that original celebration.

With inflation on the rise and and uncertainty in the future, it is vital to keep a holiday reminding us of all we have to be grateful for.  Any hardship can be weathered with help of people around you and it is important to be there for those facing their own hardships.  

Thanksgiving is more than eating turkey and screaming at a football game on television.  Don’t get me wrong, turkey is great, especially with all the fixings, but it is not the end-all be-all of the holiday.  With it becoming more expensive to simply exist, some people can’t afford to enjoy a tryptophan coma, but that does not mean they should sit the holiday out.  If anything, Thanksgiving is a celebration of hardship and overcoming difficulties.

For those stuck in a rut, giving thanks and holding the good things life close to heart is one of the best things to do.  We get so caught up in our own lives and feelings, we take the good, solid aspects for granted. We should not abandon our annual reminder that our lives, all things considered, are pretty good.  Life may have suckerpunched us a few too many times, but we’ve made it another year.

In the hurried hypercapitilast world we inhabit, a holiday emphasizing gratitude in overcoming hardship as a community bears more relevance now than ever before.  

Thanksgiving’s beauty lies in its simplicity; Families gathering to have a nice meal.    It is simply a time to enjoy the company of others and express contentment with the blessings in one’s life, particularly the people who make life special.