If Thanksgiving isn't a religious holiday, then what is it?

Question

And how can I convince my mother that I, as an atheist, have as much right to celebrate it as she (a Christian) does?

Answer 1

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.

This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe drought, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives."

October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

Answer 2

Hello. I'm an atheist too, and I celebrate Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays because, like Christmas, it means we get together with family., but unlike Christmas, there are no presents. I like presents, both giving and getting, but Thanksgiving is such a more relaxed time to be with the family without the hoopla.

The truth is, it "was" a religious holiday. It was a day to thank "God" for all the good things we little sinners receive and take for granted. (See Lincoln's proclamation, below). I am not talking of the first Thanskgiving with the pilgrims, but when the day became an official holiday.

BUT, traditions evolve. All my life, Thanksgiving has never been about religion, or any god. It's been about fall leaves, roast turkey and pumpkin pie, making little turkey pictures, making pilgrim hats. It's been a day to acknowledge the hardships the European settlers went through and the bounty they were able to enjoy with help from the Native Americans, and the sharing of a meal with people of a different culture. Thanksgiving has remained relatively free from commercialism, and it's just a nice day to be with the ones we love and eat more food than we can handle.

If your mom can't understand that, and see the value in that, at least for your sake... well... I don't know what to say.

Answer 3

Thanksgiving is very much a day when Americans, more or less, celebrate the "creation myth" of the United States, namely the feast held by the Puritans in conjunction with "friendly Indians." This, however, is a great lie. We know that the original feast was authorized by the leaders of the Massachusetts colony to celebrate the extermination of the Wampanoags, a people who deeply resented having invaders occupy their land.

And, in point of fact, all over the U.S., First Nations people(also known as Native Americans) do NOT celebrate Thanksgiving, except to remember as a day of mourning for centuries of broken promises, broken treaties, rape, murder, slavery, and genocide. There is NOTHING honrourable about the history behind Thanksgiving and if Americans, particularly so-called Euro-Americans, had any humanity or decency at all, they would use this day, every single year from now until the end of time to apologize to every single First nations person presently surviving the continuing occupation of their lands and oppression of their peoples by the "white" majority. More than that, the majority should actually go to the reservations and see just how bad conditions still are...and then they should use Thanksgiving as a day when they work their hindquarters off actually helping to improve the lives of all those who have suffered so long under their thumb. Thanksgiving is a horrible holiday that is every bit as heinous as if we were to all have a "Celebrate the Holocaust Day."

Answer 4

I am shocked at how many people do not know the true meaning of Thanksgiving and it's origination. Perhaps I know because I am a direct descendant of William Bradford and as such, Thanksgiving is a HUGE deal in our family.

The first thanksgiving was a celebration of the first fall harvest that the pilgrims had. Was there prayer? Yes. But it is not specifically a religious celebration. It was a celebration of thanks that they had been able to survive in a new land. It was celebrated with the native Americans to thank them for their help and to celebrate the harvest with them. It was later made a national holiday in the United States. It is neither a pagan nor a Christian holiday. It is simply a means to give thanks for this land we live in.

Tell your mom to crack open a credible history book.

Answer 5

You can celebrate Thanksgiving by being thankful for everything you have, you don't necessarily have to be thankful to God. Perhaps she'll change her mind when you tell her that you're thankful for what she does for you.

The question in my mind is what will you do for Christmas? Will you be able to give up that cartoon character called Santa Claus? I'm not sure why either one of those holidays are government holidays. Isn't there something in the constitution about separation of church/state?
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Answer 6

All holidays are fundementally the same thing whether celebrated by Pagans, Christians or Atheists. They are a time eat, drink and be merry.

Most of the holidays that involve food, presents etc take place during the dark, dreary days of winter when people just needed to have a good time. The other reasons were made up as they went along.

Answer 7

Thanksgiving is a holiday of humility and gratitude, a human quality which anyone can celebrate.

However, your problem is not whether Thanksgiving, or the Celebration of Gratitude, is the exclusive property of Christians who don't wish to share it with anyone else.

The problem is trying to convince your mother of something she doesn't want to accept. This puts you at a continual disadvantage because you are, in a way, trying to get your mother's approval.

If your mother was a compassionate, open-minded, understanding person, you would already have her approval. If she doesn't approve of your beliefs, you will probably have to be the one who is compassionate and understanding of her.

Let the arguments go. If you win this one, you lose. And if you lose, you lose. This is an argument that is about whether someone loves you, and accepts you, or not.

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Answer 8

Thanksgiving is an American holiday - celebrated exclusively by Americans. If it was a religious holiday, Christians in other parts of the world would be celebrating it too.

Answer 9

It is a religious Holiday. However it was granted federal holiday status by abraham Lincoln at the close of the Civil War. So I guess you can use the argument with federal status you have a right to celebrate it as an American.

But it was proclaimed a federal holiday of prayerful Thanksgiving.

Answer 10

I don't think it's a religious holiday, but a national one. Of course you have a right to celebrate. Atheists are thankful, too.