OUR VIEW: Thanksgiving is uniquely American

It turns out, as is so often the case, that when you look into the history, the stories behind Thanksgiving are more complicated than one might first imagine. But just because you can’t trace a straight line between grateful Pilgrim Fathers in Massachusetts and today’s orgy of stuffed family members and pro football is no reason not to take advantage of the opportunity to be thankful for the blessings we have experienced over the past year.

 Although many early Americans tended to see presidential proclamations on Thanksgiving as excessively Yankee, there’s a little town in Texas that now claims that the first Thanksgiving on the American continent took place there. 

According to History News Network, San Elizario, a little community near El Paso, witnessed the first Thanksgiving festival in 1598, to celebrate the arrival of Spanish explorer Juan de Onate on the banks of the Rio Grande after a grueling trek through the Mexican desert. If you view the Pilgrims’ festival at Plymouth Plantation as the inspiration for modern Thanksgiving — which it really was, although much of the visual imagery was conjured up in the 19th century and isn’t especially authentic — it’s not exactly right that it was centered on family. By inviting the Indians (or native Americans, if you prefer), the Pilgrims made it a multicultural festival. And nobody really knows if they ate turkey. 

However confused or confusing the origins might be, Thanksgiving, which has similarities to a harvest festival but is uniquely American in its present form, is worth celebrating. Setting aside a day to give thanks reminds us that, whatever impression you might get from the daily headlines, we have reasons to be grateful. 

Giving thanks reminds us that while our own efforts are important, it is not strictly through them that blessings are showered upon us. Other people and whatever higher power we recognize deserve attention and gratitude as well. 

We hope this year has brought you and your family not only material blessings (along with the inevitable sorrows), but the immeasurable joys of fellowship, pleasure in the growth and development of loved ones, and a bounty of mutual love and appreciation. 

It is in the rewards of daily life and small victories that most of us derive meaning in our lives. May your celebration include memories of blessings and unbought grace too numerous to count. 

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 NOTE: Our View editorials uphold a proud tradition at The Gazette of advocating individual freedom, constitutional law, faith, and limited government. Editorial opinions have no connection with The Gazette’s news division, and do not express the views of all Gazette associates.