Why Thanksgiving Is Really Turkey Day

First of all, let me preface whatever I’m about to say with a deep-felt respect for those who truly get into the Spirit of Thanksgiving. Having the spirit of gratitude is rarely a bad thing.

For many of us, Thanksgiving means time with family and friends, and much food. Perhaps less of us take time to reflect on why we get together and share a meal. Some write gratitude lists, while others simply sit in the pervasive feeling of peace and thanks. Yet others of us participate in what seems like a spirit of mockery, calling Thanksgiving “Turkey Day”. Some of us appreciate the humour, some of us shrug, and some of us don’t care for the term.

Those of us who “mock” have our various reasons. Perhaps some feel that holidays – all of them – have become so commercialized that there is no real meaning in them. Perhaps some are jaded about having no place to go. Perhaps some, however, do it for other reasons.

Like Christmas, Thanksgiving comes once a year. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, its rarity often leads to truly appreciating it. What is problematic, though, is that it’s too easy to limit the spirit of these holidays to their calendar correspondences.

Oh I’m sure many of us are tired of hearing “why can’t the spirit of Christmas/Thanksgiving last all year round?” – and certainly I would be included in that group, which is what makes writing this somewhat hypocritical. However, that really is the gist of this paper. Why do I need one day out of the year to be thankful?

Originally Thanksgiving was intended to celebrate a particular event in history – and I’d be damned surprised if any Canadian knows the history of Thanksgiving in their own country. So, if we’ve lost the original context of this holiday, what is left? Taking one day out of the year to appreciate what we have? Seems like a rather vacuous activity.

So, what of those who make it a daily thing to be grateful? What of those who actively develop the over-used cliché “attitude of gratitude”? What does Thanksgiving mean to they who already give thanks every day? Oh, it probably means a day to eat turkey.