Screw Turkey Day


On Thursday November 25th (God Willing) most residents of the United States of America will celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving.  I will be one of them.

This public holiday is called “Thanksgiving”.  Did you see that?

It is not called “Turkey Day”.  We are not being called to celebrate what many of us will eat.   

(If that were the case we could also name it “Sweet Potato with Marshmallow Day”, or “Pumpkin Pie Day”, or “Mashed Potato Day”).

The day is NEVER “Turkey Day”.  (Do you get my point?)

It is ALWAYS “Thanksgiving”.

That’s a terrific name for a holiday.  

It calls us to be mindful of all those parts of our “uber privileged” American way of life for which we offer thanks; and for all those people to whom we are appropriately thankful.

And for some, it is a reminder of the plight of residents in these United States who are “under privileged”.

Yet others will want to focus their thanksgivings with gratitude to God/Allah/The Holy One, (however they name that mystery of creation and evolution which has brought us to where we are.)

Screw “Turkey Day”.

Be humble and grateful on “Thanksgiving”.

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