In the United States and Canada, Thanksgiving Day is a bold red-lettered day where family members from far and near reunite, share the latest among them, fondly reminisce the past and bond together. The climax of the day is the turkey dinner, with cranberries, wine and yam. Before the sumptuous meal, a prayer is traditional in giving thanks to the Lord for all the gifts and blessings He bestowed.
Friends in the US and Canada told me that Thanksgiving Day is observed more than Christmas. Every fourth Thursday of November, families are busy preparing the turkey, baking, cooking and expecting relatives and friends. Malls and big groceries are closed --- virtually the country stands still where most celebrate the day.
On Christmas Day, the atmosphere is the same but lesser in impact. Not all are Christians in the US (and Canada).
Here at home, there was a time when dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared September 21 (Martial Law anniversary) as thanksgiving day. Is there a good reason for the dehumanized nation to be thankful for the horrible crimes of the brutal military rule?
Some Metro Manila elite celebrate Thanksgiving the day US celebrates on the fourth Thursday of November.
What for?
I am not saying that giving thanks to the Lord is not good or be discouraged but the history of the great American holiday has nothing to do with the Philippines. The Pilgrims left their homeland in Europe and headed to the New World to escape religious persecution and find a better life. After arriving in Plymouth, the pilgrims endured the fury of weather in a strange land with unfamiliar customs and people. At the 11th chapter of their storied emigration, the Indians welcomed them in their midst and showed them how to live in the land they now share.
“The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey . . . This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving.” (1)
I have a very special one in Canada. I tell her later tonight to give thanks to the Lord, the source of all that is good and ask for more blessing and grace. At this early, she asked me how to roast her turkey. I have to dig up my recipe files for that.
To Canada and its citizens, Happy Thanksgiving Day! Bonne Action de Grâce!
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(1) Excerpt from Manila Bulletin editorial, October 10, 2010 edition.
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