Dear Friends, 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because of the two words it has and the one it doesn’t.

The absent word is Day. Unlike Labor Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and the rest, day-less Thanksgiving implies that this isn’t designated and need not be limited to a one-day experience.

The two words the holiday does have, of course, are Thanks and Giving. My parents taught me to say please and thank you, and those civilities have served me well in the courtroom and everywhere else.

The same could be said of Giving. Many people’s faith traditions teach that it’s better to give than to receive. A well-known comedian once paraphrased this to, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive – especially kittens.”

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Bay in 1621. A recent Washington Post feature explains what happened to the native Wampanoag people who helped the starving White strangers survive by teaching them how to plant and fertilize crops.

I didn’t know that by the time the Pilgrims landed, the Wampanoag had been trading with and sometimes fighting against European explorers for nearly a century. Their hopes for better relations rose when they saw women and children getting off the Mayflower.

As happened to many indigenous people, the Wampanoag were decimated by diseases the Europeans carried and eventually forced off their land. It’s not a happy story at all, which is why 50 years ago, an activist with one of the few remaining tribes suggested his people boycott the official Thanksgiving holiday and hold a National Day of Mourning instead. Who can blame them?

It’s important that we teach and remember the truth about that period of history. Most of the shameful and inhumane treatment of American Indians has been papered over with myth. The Wampanoag weren’t even invited to the first Thanksgiving. The tribesmen arrived on the scene after hearing celebratory shots fired. When they realized it was a communal feast, they contributed deer to the meal.

This is not a plea to abolish or redefine Thanksgiving. The myths need to go but not the spirit. It’s worth keeping alive any tradition that gives us a reason to pause from the routine of work, gather with friends and family, and take stock of all we have to be thankful for.

It’s been a hard two years with the pandemic, and sensible precautions may keep us apart from friends and loved ones again this Thanksgiving. I hope you still feel compelled to engage in Thanks and Giving on Thursday and other days.