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Yes. The origins of Thanksgiving suuuuuuck but the actual holiday is pretty good other than the carnism (vegan btw). And especially when so many of our holidays are just bad. MLK Jr Day is ok but focusing on one man instead of the movement does kind of defang it. Then an entirely commercialized day for couples that's redundant with anniversaries. Then a holiday to honor all the war criminals who led this country. Easter is whatever. Then one to honor soldiers who died in service of imperial aggression. Then one to celebrate a group of bourgeoisie slavers who wanted to become the aristocrats of the new world and didn't like the British telling them they couldn't steal more native lands. Labor day is alright but has lost its meaning. Then a holiday to honor the butcher who "discovered" this place. Ok, I don't even like Halloween but it's pretty good and unproblematic. Then ANOTHER day to honor the troops (fuck em). And then we get to Christmas, and while I can ignore the religious origins the commercialism and sheer scale in which Christmas dominates our lives for like 10% of the year is gross.
Given all this, yeah it would be nice if we could just rehabilitate Thanksgiving.
I love how my 2 favorites pass unscathed. Easter, although somewhat, just cannot be fully coopted by capitalism because it is so inherently religious. Halloween is also just a good time, spooky and full of candy.
I always think Thanksgiving is a harvest festival, but I'm in Canada where it happens in late sept early Oct when things are actually being harvested.
The us has it too late to be a harvest celebration in many parts of the country
What is there to feel guilty about? You just happened to be born here. Enjoy the food and your family.
I just left a thanksgiving that started with a land acknowledgement because i showed up. I'm just here to eat, man.
Yeah don't like say a prayer for the colonisers or something, just go hangout with the fam and eat a bunch lol
basically is already. I just eat and remind my family members what it is I do most of the time, pepper in some funny stories and leave.
Realistically, Thanksgiving meals are what we should be eating year round. Lean protein, starchy vegetables, old bread. Like our ancestors used to eat
Fuck guilt. Enjoy community and family and be against colonialism all at once.
The modern incarnation of Thanksgiving was founded during the middle of the Civil War, by Abraham Lincoln, who declared it a national holiday in the hopes of boosting the war-torn Union's morale. It's a reminder to be thankful for a bountiful harvest and all the good things that are still functioning, despite the pains caused by a rightful and just struggle.
There are earlier thanks giving celebrations in the US's history (it is an imported Puritan tradition), but that's the one where it became a permanent national holiday, and it's also the cool one.
