Happy Thanksgiving 2025 Edition

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Let's talk first about the history of the holiday and then move on to how to navigate it!

Thanksgiving began as a harvest celebration in the early 1600s and evolved into a national holiday in the United States in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a day of gratitude.

🌽 Early Origins

• Religious roots in Europe: The idea of “days of thanksgiving” comes from English traditions during the Protestant Reformation, when special services were held to give thanks for blessings or deliverance from hardship.

• Canada’s first thanksgiving: In 1578, explorer Martin Frobisher held a thanksgiving ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks for safe passage across the Atlantic.

🦃 The 1621 Feast

• Pilgrims and Wampanoag: The most famous “First Thanksgiving” took place in 1621, when English settlers at Plymouth Colony shared a three-day harvest feast with the Wampanoag people. This meal included venison, fowl, corn, and other local foods—not the turkey-and-pie menu we know today.

• Survival and alliance: The feast symbolized gratitude for survival after a brutal winter and marked cooperation between the colonists and Native Americans, though later relations became fraught with conflict.

📜 Becoming a National Holiday

• Colonial observances: For over two centuries, colonies and states held their own thanksgiving days, often tied to military victories or harvests.

• Lincoln’s proclamation (1863): During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day to foster unity, setting it on the last Thursday of November.

• Congressional resolution (1941): U.S. Congress officially fixed Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, a date still observed today.

🍂 Traditions and Celebrations

• Food: Roast turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie became staples of the American Thanksgiving table.

• Community events: Parades (like Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, first held in 1924) and football games are now iconic parts of the holiday.

• Canada’s celebration: Since 1957, Canada has celebrated Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October.

⚖️ Controversies

• Many Native Americans view Thanksgiving as a reminder of colonization and loss, rather than a simple celebration of gratitude. Modern observances often acknowledge this history alongside the holiday’s themes of family and thankfulness.

  
  

In short, Thanksgiving blends European religious traditions, Native American alliances, and American political history into a holiday that is both celebratory and complex. 

Okay, so now you know some of the history. Let's not ignore that Thanksgiving is the catapult for endless holiday TV and internet commercials, snail mail ads, and email offers. It can be stressful rather than celebratory. How do we deal with all of this and have a satisfactory outcome?

Anyone that travels this year by air may feel more than the average airport pressures. Pack as light as possible, remember that anything you forgot to pack can be purchased at your destination, and remind yourself that you are making this journey to spend time with people that are important to you. On the plane and in the airport, avoid the news and immerse yourself with a good book. If possible, spend wait time in an airport lounge based on your airline or credit card. They are a lot quieter and calmer than the general waiting areas. They provide snacks too! Be patient with airport and airline workers. They are working on a holiday. You are not. Everyone feels better in a cooperative atmosphere and nobody wants to end up in a wild YouTube video. Or at least I hope not.

Hosting a gathering? Spend 5 minutes before you start cooking to perform some simple breathing exercises (some can be found on this website in the blog section) to calm yourself and prepare yourself to enjoy your cooking tasks. Take the offer of help from anyone in the household that asks. There is no prize for doing everything yourself. Let children help too, perhaps by setting a table or taking out the trash.

Not hosting or attending a gathering? Plan for something special that you like to do. Go to a movie, go to your favorite park for a long walk and admire nature as you stroll. This is called Forest Bathing (also on the website) and not for the purpose of exercise. Don't pay attention to that fitness tracker on your wrist, just for a while. If you know a neighbor or have a friend or relative that is otherwise not celebrating the holiday in the traditional manner, ask if they would like to come along. But even if it is you alone, you deserve to participate in an activity that will refresh your spirit. Did you ever go to a restaurant alone and the hostess says "Is it just you?" No, it's not "just me" it's ME, thank you very much! But I digress. Football fans can have a great day by watching TV from morning to night. Make sure that you have your favorite foods and snacks nearby. The choices of how to spend the day are endless.

If possible, you may want to spend your time at a shelter, assisting with serving meals to those less fortunate than yourself. That probably requires advance planning but it's possible that you can just show up at some locations. It's hard work so you must be physically able to assist should you decide to do this. Maybe you are down on your luck (yes, that is an old fashioned characterization) and you wish to attend as a guest, You will be welcomed.

Now that you've read the history of Thanksgiving and learned that there are other ways to celebrate a day away from your usual activities (work, school, appointments, etc.) seriously consider adding an early morning, mid day or evening 5 minutes to 30 minutes of Tai chi, Qigong, yoga, walking, or very, very light exercise. No matter how healthy your diet, you may sneak in a piece of pie on Thanksgiving and nobody blames you. Before you head for the second piece, instead interject some mindful minutes into your day.

Happy Thanksgiving and Peace

bcbz blogger