Thanksgiving Trivia Question: Did the pilgrims come from England or Holland? (Answer at the end.)
If heard different stories about the origins of Thanksgiving over the years. Some accounts emphasize the high mortality rate of the pilgrims. Over half of the 102 colonists had died, and the 44 survivors held a feast to express their gratitude to God, even in the face of tremendous hardship and loss. Gratitude, like faith, is often an ironic thing. Sometimes it seems that the people with the least to be grateful for are the most appreciative. That doesn’t always hold, but often it does.
The Thanksgiving holiday celebrations of my childhood—the way I remember them now, at least—had more than a hint of Normal Rockwell perfection. Old age and life choices have made things harder on my family in recent years, and I’ve sometimes I struggled with gratitude. Why aren’t things the way they used to be? Why isn’t my life more perfect? This year I’m grateful my mom’s knee replacement surgery went very well, and that the effects of my dad’s latest stroke weren’t any worse than they were. No big parties or fireworks, but there will be plenty of time for those between now and New Year’s. Some years, I admit, my life was closer to the Norman Rockwell painting, but I wasn’t always as grateful as I should have been then either. The times of life we remember as happy don’t always seems that extraordinary when we’re living them. It’s odd how that works.
I remember reading about how many gloomy and depressing philosophies are written by people who live in nice places like Paris, while vibrant faith springs up like wildflowers in some of the poorest parts of Africa. Why are the “have nots” better at faith and gratitude than spoiled “haves” like myself? Even though my DNA is more gloomy Parisian, Thanksgiving reminds me to face life more like a grateful African—or Pilgrim.
That’s my inspirational thought for the day. If you want to learn more about the factual history of Thanksgiving, these are some links you might want to check out:
This entry from History.net emphasizes the hardship and the courage of the pilgrims: http://www.ushistory.org/us/3b.asp
Or this one from Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History Website: http://mayflowerhistory.com/thanksgiving
But if you’d rather enjoy a Disneyesque retelling of American history to get your colonist blood flowing, follow this link to Disney’s American Adventure show at EPCOT.
Answer to Thanksgiving Trivia Question: Yes!
The Pilgrims that settled at Plymouth were part of a group of English people who traveled to Amsterdam to practice religious freedom. As Separatist dissenters, they weren’t Anglican or Catholic and were viewed as outsiders. Amsterdam allowed more religious freedom than England in those days, so they went there. The group we know as Pilgrims traveled to Massachusetts on the Mayflower (if memory serves, there was another ship called the Speedwell that sunk), and the part of the group that stayed in Amsterdam went back to England to become the forebears of the Baptist denomination.
What? The people of Paris are offended because I said they were gloomy, and they’re demanding an apology? Oh, come– A dual?! Are you serious? Well never mind, then. You’re all as jolly as the cook on The Little Mermaid. Shall we sing it together: “Les poisson, les poisson…”
Enough of my tomfoolery. Happy Thanksgiving!