The joy of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a unique holiday.
Unlike Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, there is no gift-giving.
Unlike Christmas, Easter, Ramadan or Hanukkah, there is no religious significance.
Unlike President’s Day or Martin Luther King Day, no heroic figure is celebrated.
Unlike Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day, it is not a day to remember soldiers who served and, in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice.
Unlike the Fourth of July it is not celebrated with fireworks and patriotic speeches.
However, Thanksgiving does have its own fanfare. In 1920, Gimbel’s department store staged a parade in Philadelphia. In 1924 the annual Macy’s parade began in New York City. Ever since, in Philadelphia, New York and elsewhere there have been annual parades with huge floats and balloons, with Santa Claus at the rear of the procession. The holiday is also a time for feasting on turkey, stuffing, yams, macaroni, pies and other food--lots and lots of food.
Thanksgiving is also unique in other ways.
There are certain holiday calendar dates in the U.S. that are set in stone.
New Year’s Day always falls on Jan. 1 and Christmas always falls on Dec. 25.
This year Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 25.
Next year, Thanksgiving will be on a different date and the year after that another.
The only thing certain is that Thanksgiving Day is always observed on the fourth Thursday in November.
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states.
President Abraham Lincoln began the official holiday when he called on Americans to observe the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise" after the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, near the end of the Civil War.
For years, every president after Lincoln annually proclaimed the holiday, with few exceptions, be celebrated the last Thursday in November.
However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November by proclamation as the country was coming out the Great Depression with hopes that an extra week of holiday shopping would help the economy.
But not all the states complied, so Congress officially set the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving across the country in 1941 and Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1942 designating the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
But it is not its interesting origin, parades, food or football games played, that makes the holiday special.
Thanksgiving is special because it is the one day of the year that every American regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender can celebrate together.
Thanksgiving brings families together, at a time when the country has become more urban, family members have moved further apart and individuals have become more isolated.
While it is an American holiday, Thanksgiving is based on a universal principle.
It is a holiday that recognizes that we humans are social beings who need each other. In addition to the gathering of family and friends, it is a time of year when many also participate in acts of service and charity as a way of giving back to their community.
Thanksgiving is the one day of the year set aside to simply give thanks. For even in loss there are reasons to be thankful – for the memories that are everlasting.
Thanksgiving helps us to remember to show gratitude which is essential to keeping up grounded and lifting us up.
Because no matter where we are in this world, no matter our status or station in life, as long as there is breath, there is life, and therefore hope and reasons to be grateful.
So, remember to give thanks this Thanksgiving.
Irv Randolph is an award-winning journalist and creator of The Randolph Report, a newsletter dedicated to pursuing truth and justice. Sign up for free and get an independent view on politics, race and culture delivered to your inbox every week.