Odd as it may seem, the official observance of Thanksgiving has its roots not in the Pilgrim harvest feasts of popular myth, but in the America's great bloodletting, the Civil War...President Abraham Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation on Oct. 3, 1863, setting aside the fourth Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."....Holiday Had Roots In War, Editorial, The Bonner Springs Chieftan, 11/21/2006
We too often forget what actually happened. From the advertising for holiday foods to cartoons, movies, and television, the fanciful and charming myth too often obliterates a real story that's far more evocative. And the real story of Thanksgiving is more suggestive about the meaning of the holiday than any nonsense about Indians and Pilgrims. Thanks to the Bonner Springs Chieftan for this. You should read the whole thing.
Luther
No comments:
Post a Comment