Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving without the history


I guess this comes from my bah-humbug feeling about most USofA celebrations like Easter, Christmas and even Veterans Day.   The fantasy becomes overwhelming leaving me to believe it contributes to the naivete of so many Americans.   Not that other cultures don't do the same thing in their regional way but I'm talking Thanksgiving.

I Googled "Thanksgiving history" and found more sad stories than the idyllic ones we remember from childhood.  Even About.com, which is usually middle of the road in it's information started off with this.
Thanksgiving has become synonymous with family, food and football over the years. But this unassuming American holiday is not without controversy. Schools still teach children that Thanksgiving marks the day that Pilgrims met helpful Indians who gave them food, farming techniques and more to overcome the bitter New England cold. The children color cutouts of happy Pilgrims and happy Indians which ignore that contact between the two led to the decimation of millions of Native peoples.
Looking around at a few other Ex-Pat blogs gave me hope that not all is lost .... with advise that we can focus on the present.   Yes, family, food and even football (no Seahawks today) ... but also thankful for what we have, are living in Mexico and even that we have survived this long in a rather crazy world.  I guess I'll drop my objection, let others do their thing and be grateful more than one day of the year. All the best to you.

2 comments:

John Calypso said...

The Calypso Couple wishes you a GREAT DAY - all great days!

sparks said...

Gracias amigos !!

The construction of the house finished in April 2011 and I'm pretty much settled in. As of March 2014 I'm in preparation for rain mode for this coming summer. That includes sealing and painting things and dealing with drainage issues from last year.

Sparks Mexico Web
Manzanillo Information
House building in Pinal Villa

Archivo del blog

Expat.com

Expat Exchange