Thanksgiving day

Is Thanksgiving day a true historical event or just a myth to accommodate events to certain political and social ideologies? An actual country situation and condition deserves this kind of celebration and who are you thanking to and why? Most people follow traditions not even knowing the real origin, historical context and why.

The myth of the First Thanksgiving is the mythologized retelling of a 1621 harvest feast by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts as the foundation for the modern Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated in the United States. Also called the Thanksgiving myth, this description of events has been criticized by both Indigenous peoples of the United States and academic scholars for how it obfuscates history, particularly the relationships between the Pilgrims and the Indigenous people of the region.

Myth

Historian David Silverman describes the myth of the First Thanksgiving as such: "The myth is that friendly Indians, unidentified by tribe, welcome the Pilgrims to America, teach them how to live in this new place, sit down to dinner with them and then disappear".

Background

According to the myth, the Pilgrims left England on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. Although the settlers did include the Separatists, who wanted to break away from the Church of England, other members of the community had travelled to the New World for largely financial reasons, rather than religious reasons.

The myth continues, saying that once the Mayflower landed in Cape Cod Bay, the men onboard drew up the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that all the men onboard the ship agreed to follow. This has been cited as the First democratic governing document in what would become the United States, and a supposed basis for the American Constitution over a century later.

Once the Pilgrims landed, the myth says they found the local Indigenous people (primarily the Wampanoag), with whom they had a warm, friendly, and "faithful" relationship, with the settlers requiring Wampanoag assistance to survive, which they provided out of the goodness of their hearts. In truth, Wampanoag leader Ousamequin was the one to initiate contact with the settlers in March 1621, after a time of wary avoidance; the Wampanoag had previous negative experiences with European fishermen, some of whom had captured individuals as slaves. The relationship was political, rather than being based on interpersonal relationships, with the Wampanoag hoping an alliance with the settlers would allow them access to trade and help them fight against the Narragansett people. This alliance was also not universally approved of, with individual Wampanoag challenging the idea that the alliance was a good idea. The Pilgrims primarily maintained an alliance with the Wampanoag in order to have access to resources.

The winter of late 1620 into early 1621 was particularly harsh for the English settlers, with many of them dying. The settlers were able to prepare for the next winter with the help of Tisquantum, usually called Squanto in the myth, but what is usually not mentioned is that Tisquantum had been abducted by the crew of an English ship in 1614 and sold into slavery in Spain. He escaped from slavery and made his way to England, learning English there before returning to North America in 1619. When he returned, his tribe had been ravaged by smallpox.^[6] The Pilgrims had built Plymouth on the area where his village had been, as the land was already cleared.

Thanksgiving day meaning according to Buddhism 

In Buddhism, "Thanksgiving Day" is a secular holiday that is viewed as a valuable opportunity to practice core Buddhist values like gratitude, compassion, and interdependence. Buddhists can use this day to reflect on the kindness of others, give thanks to all beings for their support, and cultivate mindfulness through practices such as eating vegetarian meals to express compassion for animals. This extends the spirit of giving thanks beyond just a single holiday into a year-round, lifelong practice. 

Cultivating gratitude

• A lifelong practice: Buddhism emphasizes that gratitude is not a holiday-specific emotion but a lifelong practice. Thanksgiving is seen as a good opportunity to reflect on and deepen one's sense of gratitude, especially for the precious human life itself.

• Recognizing interdependence:The value of gratitude is connected to the Buddhist understanding of dependent origination, the concept that all things are interconnected.

• An antidote to greed: Gratitude is seen as an antidote to greed and attachment, as it helps free one from the constant desire for more. 

Practicing compassion

• Vegetarian meals: Many Buddhists choose to eat a vegetarian meal to express compassion for all living beings, especially animals that are often killed for traditional holiday feasts.

• Recognizing support from all beings: A Buddhist Thanksgiving prayer often includes thanking parents, teachers, friends, and all beings in the animal, vegetable, and mineral worlds for their support.

• Mindful eating: Eating with mindfulness allows one to reflect on the many people, animals, and natural forces that contributed to bringing food to their table. 

Expressing thankfulness in practice

• Nembutsu: In some Buddhist traditions, like Shin Buddhism, expressing thanks is done through the nembutsu chant, "Namu Amida Butsu," as a joyful utterance of gratitude rather than a prayer for a specific outcome.

• Ullambana: While not a Thanksgiving counterpart, the Buddhist festival of Ullambana shares the theme of gratitude by including rituals to give thanks to elders and the Sangha (monastic community).