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Thanksgiving As An Environmental Holiday
The origins of Thanksgiving are as a celebration of the bounty of the creation and the gifts of the Creator. That makes it perfect for becoming THE environmental holiday in the United States.
Thanksgiving is part of American "Civil Religion." It is and should be celebrated by people of faith and humanists alike.
The “First Thanksgiving” was religious in origin, both from the Pilgrim perspective and from the Wampanoag Indian perspective. It was a harvest festival and both groups saw the land and its bounty as a gift of the Creator.
The Pilgrim view was largely Calvinist and Calvin’s theology would dictate that all blessing comes from the sovereign God. God’s sovereignty meant, as Edward Winslow writes in his contemporary account (December 12, 1621) that their harvest was “by the goodness of God.”
The Indians present at the three-day feast were from the Wampanoag (meaning Eastern) federation of Native American tribes. Wampanoag Indians are alive and well today (as are the Pilgrims in my own United Church of Christ heritage).Then as now, the Wampanoag have a deeply spiritual attitude toward the land and giving thanks for the Creator’s gifts is an integral part of their daily life.
It was Abraham Lincoln who, in 1863, proclaimed the first Thanksgiving as a national holiday and in that proclamation called on all Americans to give thanks for the “blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies” that show the “ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”
Thanksgiving as a national holiday has now become part of what we call “civil religion,” that is, the shared ritual practices of a nation that serve to unite them. Civil religion is based on the idea that there can be broad values that people of diverse religious perspectives, and people who would count themselves humanists, all share. One does not need to be a “believer” in God to share deeply in these values.
There can be great abuses of civil religion, as when the nation becomes an object of worship itself. But Thanksgiving as practiced in the U.S. is a great unifier and we could do more with it.
Let’s take our cue from the Wampanoag and John Calvin and Abraham Lincoln and make Thanksgiving THE environmental holiday. We need to give thanks for THIS creation and commit ourselves to saving this environment so we can have, as Lincoln said, “fruitful fields and healthful skies.”
By
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite
|
November 23, 2006; 8:00 AM ET
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Posted by: dkubg gmrylqnbj | July 13, 2007 1:39 PM
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Posted by: dkubg gmrylqnbj | July 13, 2007 1:37 PM
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Posted by: dkubg gmrylqnbj | July 13, 2007 1:36 PM
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As a Pagan, a Wiccan to be precise, I give thanks to nature for Her bounty. The seeds that grow into nurishment for my family, so that we can have what we need to be strong and healthy. The beauty that surrounds me each and every day... the family and friends that I have been blessed with. Does this take a belief in any God?
I happen to be a pantheist, but do I need to have any religion to be thankful for a life that is happy and fulfilling? I don't think so.
Blessed Be...
Lady K.
Posted by: Keir | November 28, 2006 4:43 PM
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Good point! I traditionally looked at Thanksgiving as a very civil holiday which has gotten the American bump that all holidays do eventually. Of course luckily enough for Thanksgiving, it hasn't gone the way of Christmas or Valentine's Day in the American eye, people are still thankful for their surrounding, family, and blessings. Now as I sit down to eat today I'm going to mention how thankful I am for the 'fruitful fields and (slightly) healthy skys' we have.
Thanks!
Posted by: Samuel | November 23, 2006 11:34 AM
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Your Right!
It's raining on Thanksgiving in Oregon! The next time I stand in a river "trying" to catch a steelhead, your comments will be in my mind.
What made yuo comment on the Wampanoag Nation?
So True!
Posted by: Merlin19 | November 23, 2006 9:50 AM
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