Thanksgiving Is Not A Turkey

by H. P., Branford, CT

Be honest. What does Thanksgiving bring to mind? Rivalries played out on the football field, your family, stuffed, sleeping all around you as you watch TV. A lot of hectic time spent cooking, and what else, but the turkey! The most revered aspect of Thanksgiving. We draw cute pictures of it, we display them as porcelain figurines, we hang cut-outs of them on our doors. And we eat them, having looked forward for a month and having leftover turkey sandwiches for another month. But really, why do we put so much stock in the bird? After all, Thanksgiving is not a turkey.

Yes, I see how it got this way. We saw pictures of people in old-fashioned clothing, gathered around a big table full of food. And in the center, the turkey. Besides, we like turkey! But take a closer look at that picture. Think of what was really being celebrated. A good harvest. We've heard that, haven't we? The crops that had grown so abundantly, the food that they knew would sustain them for another year. A true gift of Mother Nature. And look even closer. They were celebrating more than just food. Indians and pilgrims gathered together with their families. They were alive, healthy and together on this day in this beautiful world, this earth which had sustained them. They gave thanks for this. And that is the heart of Thanksgiving.

So this year, as you sit down before a steaming turkey, try to think of why and how you are there. Think of the earth which has given you life and think of those long-ago people, and of your own ancestors, whoever they may be, and be thankful.