(The 3-Minute
Weekly Insight from Spirituality U.)
I think Thanksgiving is THE Interfaith holiday in
America. Here’s why. Thanksgiving incorporates two powerful elements common to
all religions: shared food and expressed gratitude. Let me explain the food
part first.
I like to explore what I call the “core mythology”
of religions. As part of my exploration, I once told a Jewish friend that I
thought the core myth of Judaism was “exile and return.” She said, “That’s almost
right; it’s actually, exile and return…Let’s go eat.”
I instantly had an epiphany: shared food is a key
element of ALL religions; e.g., Jesus died for our sins…let’s go eat; there is
no god but God and Muhammad is his Prophet…let’s go eat. And so on and so on.
Moreover, I have learned by experience that one of the most useful tools in
interfaith work is a meal shared among folks from different religions.
And here are a few observations about food at the
first Thanksgiving in 1621. Compared with our contemporary menu of traditional
items, we might be surprised to learn that the Pilgrims and Native Americans may
have munched on such exotic foods as lobster, swan and even seal meat. We might
be just as surprised to learn that the first menu didn’t include such
Thanksgiving staples as pumpkin pie, ham, sweet potatoes, or cranberry sauce!
These days, in addition to turkey and dressing and
pumpkin pie, the menu may include Middle Eastern hummus, Indian pekoras and
even Japanese sushi. Because Chanukah starts on Thanksgiving this year the
table may also include potato pancakes and soufgoniot
(jelly doughnuts).And the gathering for dinner in a household may include
Christians and Muslims, Hindus and Jews, Buddhists and Baha’is.
It is appropriate to note that the idea of
devoting a day to Thanksgiving isn’t uniquely American. A number of countries around the world
celebrate some kind of thanksgiving day or festival. Canada observes
Thanksgiving in October. Among the other nations that observe some form of
national gratefulness are: China, Israel, Brazil, South Korea and India.
The spirit of thanksgiving is infused with
gratitude (as the name implies). A close examination of just about every
religion reveals that one of their common spiritual practices is an expression
of gratefulness. The monk David Steindl-Rast reminds us that gratefulness is in
fact the heart of prayer. The first Thanksgiving was offered as a consumable
prayer in gratitude for the community’s survival of a long and painful winter
and a scorching summer. That first Thanksgiving reminds us to express gratitude
even when things aren’t going well in our individual lives or the world around
us.
It wasn’t until we were in the midst of our
horrible Civil War that Thanksgiving Day became a national event. President
Lincoln in 1863 called on Americans to observe a Thanksgiving Day in November
each year. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, but
during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt tried to move the observance
up a week (as a way of stimulating the sputtering pre-Christmas economy). But
there was such an uproar that, Thanksgiving was returned to its original place
on the calendar. Score: gratefulness one; shameless consumerism zero.
For more information about the history of
Thanksgiving visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment