On the Meaning of Thanksgiving

Generically speaking, a "thanksgiving" is a celebration of gratitude for divine providence. Post-harvest thanksgiving feasts and celebrations have been held in many cultures spanning many centuries.

American schoolchildren are taught - or at any rate, used to be taught - that Thanksgiving is an American holiday which originated with the Pilgrims, who gave thanks to God and the American Indians who had helped them survive beyond their first cruel winter in the New World. In fact, our American Thanksgiving reflects a prior tradition dating back to (and arguably predating) Henry VIII and the English Reformation.

The Puritan English Separatists landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620 faced harsh and unfamiliar conditions. Half of them died during the first winter. Then the English-speaking Patuxet Indian Tisquantum, called “Squanto”, functioning as the Pilgrims' New World ambassador, convinced the local Wampanoag tribe to teach them how to fish, cultivate corn, and use other tools and tricks of survival. This was truly a cause for thanksgiving, as it saved the Pilgrims from doom.

The first Thanksgiving lasted three days and led to many years of peace, setting the precedent for annual celebrations that have refueled the faith, gratitude, and courage of later generations of Americans all the way to the present. But what of the present itself, with America in the throes of turmoil, despair, and cultural disintegration?

Thanksgiving now takes on a whole new meaning. Ironically, we now have even more to celebrate than did our European ancestors.

First, we still have the courage and independence of the first American colonists from England, who used their church-covenant style of organization as an autonomous, self-reliant model for civil government. This model was adopted by other New England colonies, ultimately leading to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, American Revolution, and United States Constitution.

In addition, we have a tremendous opportunity for rebirth and renewal. Instead of being torn apart and erased from history by the parasitically divergent enemies of freedom, decency, and the American way of life, we now have an opportunity to move the founding principles of our great nation into the future, uniting the faith and dignity of the Pilgrims with a newfound understanding of God, man, and (equivalently) the deep structure of reality.

This is the last such opportunity we are likely to receive, making it all the more worthy of our gratitude. May we steel ourselves to do what has become necessary, and thus earn the renewal that God has generously placed within our reach.

Our undying thanks to God Almighty. We pray that it be shared in good faith by all good-hearted Americans. Let God be praised forever.

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© Christopher Michael Langan. All Rights Reserved.