Thanksgiving has seemingly devolved into a kind of pre-Christmas or Christmas-lite, However, when we were kids (yes, I am a boomer), my parents made sure we knew the difference. For one thing, Black Friday was not a trap we were ever lured into. The Friday after Thanksgiving is for many the day the Christmas shopping season starts, but our mother wasn’t going to wade into any Madison-Avenue-induced slugfest just to acquire Christmas gifts. Friday was spent with cousins, playing board and card games at home, with turkey sandwiches for lunch.
Here’s what we learned about Thanksgiving back (mumble) years ago:
Pilgrims came to these shores in 1620. They barely survived the winter, and that was only possible thanks to the help the Wampanoag people provided. They taught the Pilgrims how to grow local crops. The part of that mythology I remember best, however, is that when the pilgrims were on the brink of death, members of the Wampanoag tribe arrived with baskets of food and they all had a wonderful feast together. It didn’t happen quite that way, but Wampanoag and pilgrims did share a feast.
The Wampanoag would later learn that no good deed goes unpunished, but when we were kids creating pilgrim outfits and Indian war bonnets out of construction paper, we accepted this sugar-coated tale with warm hearts.
For the most part, European invaders were too busy in the 16th-19th centuries getting the Native nations out of their way to appreciate the help they once provided. So I suspect Abraham Lincoln wasn’t even thinking of Wampanoag and pilgrim when he created Thanksgiving in 1863.
Another difference: Thanksgiving music is not as endemic as Christmas music, and it’s just not the same. As kids, we learned “Over the River and Through the Woods.” I also love “We Gather Together” at Thanksgiving, but not the original Dutch hymn, which is way too Calvinistic to enjoy. Give me the Unitarian-Universalist version any day.
Anyway, while our materialistic society wants to make both Thanksgiving and Christmas all about spending money. In some people’s minds, Thanksgiving is just the beginning of the Christmas season. Here’s how resisters distinguish between the two:
| holiday | Thanksgiving | christmas |
|---|---|---|
| The meaning | A day to give thanks for our many blessings | Celebration of the birth of Christ |
| How it’s really celebrated | A frenzy of cooking and eating; watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and (American) football games on television. Heartier souls may even play football. Some people start Christmas shopping already, but those people are heathens. | Some people go to church; Christmas Eve Midnight Mass is usually lovely. Presents! A nice lunch or dinner with family and friends |
| Menu | Turkey is apparently the law; ignore at your peril. Pumpkin pie, cranberries, sweet potatoes & more! | Often turkey, but also ham, roast beef, or other family favorites. Christmas cookies! |
| Music | Over the River and Through the Woods, We Gather Together. There might be some I’m missing, but people don’t sing nearly enough at Thanksgiving! | Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, White Christmas, Jingle Bells (& too many more to list) |
| Movies | Very few. The Big Chill, The Blind Side (arguably), maybe Miracle on 34th Street (which is more of a Christmas movie) | A Christmas Carol (& updates like Scrooged), It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas & many more |
CB's MoJo 