This Thursday November 27 is Thanksgiving Day. It is a much beloved national holiday remarkably free of commercial exploitation. Because it is so focused on family gatherings, it may have done more than all the politicians combined to reopen the government and get the flight schedule back to normal. President Lincoln established the Thanksgiving Holiday in 1863 and it has been celebrated every year since. As I read the President’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, I find it extraordinary for what is there and for what is not there.

First, the timing was extraordinary. A day of thanksgiving was proclaimed when our country was engaged in a civil way, a war that turned brother against brother, threatened the identity of our nation, and cost the lives of 500,000 Americans. Yet in one of the darkest years of our history, the President told us to be thankful:  “In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gift of the Most High God, who while dealing with us for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

The President reminds us that we can always find reasons to be grateful, even in the darkest of times. But I think he was also aware of something else about gratitude. When the war was over, it would be grateful people who would rebuild the nation. Grumbling people would only complain about how awful things were and not lend a hand. It is still true today. When we think about our life, our family, our city, our country, our church, our world, our sports teams, we can easily find grounds for grumbling. But let us resist the temptation and count our blessings and see if that does not bear fruit in making life better around us. At the family table this year, try to appreciate the uniqueness of each guest. They are all reflections of the marvelous creativity of God—regardless of their political opinions!

And, by the way, what is missing from Lincoln’s Proclamation of 1863?  Any reference to Indians, Pilgrims, and the First Thanksgiving. As much as we think that our Thanksgiving celebration is based on a celebratory meal in 1621, it really is not. Yes, there was a celebratory meal shared by Pilgrims and Indians, but it happened almost by accident. The Pilgrims were having a feast. It was not a thanksgiving meal, because in the Pilgrim tradition, thanksgiving meant prayer and fasting. As part of the celebration, some men engaged in target practice. Nearby Wampanoags heard the gunfire, thought it might be their enemies, the Narragansetts, and arrived with their weapons loaded. There was just enough trust between Pilgrims and Wampanoags for them to lay down their arms and have a meal together.          Historians tell us the Story of the First Thanksgiving was largely the invention of White Anglo-Saxons Protestants in the North in the late nineteenth century. The focus on friendly Indians and hospitable colonists was meant to serve as a criticism of the way Indians were treated in the West and Blacks were treated in the South. Worried about an influx of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe who were Catholic or Jewish, the Thanksgiving Story was a way of asserting the cultural and religious superiority of the first settlers and a warning about the new immigrants, who because of their religious beliefs and lack of sophistication, represented a threat to traditional American values.

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration and focus on giving thanks to God, who loves all people equally.

                                                 Fr. Joe