In the ‘Grammar of Thanksgiving’ the author made the argument of how we as Christians should approach the American Thanksgiving Holiday by deciphering how it works-- finding the grammar of it all.
The author begins by explaining the origins of Thanksgiving which I highly disagree with. He/She claims that most Americans don’t understand the truth about Thanksgiving. That Americans are under the assumptions that the Native Americans living amongst them were the fortunate ones for combining their food with the Indians. Where does this come from? I’ve always learned in school that the Native Americans saved the pilgrims from potential starvation. I thought that the true Thanksgiving origin was what we were all taught.
For me, explaining the assumed origins taught to most American about Thanksgiving was too wrong to continue along with his quest. Yet, of course I kept reading.
Thanksgiving verses Repentance.
When asked at the dinner table on Thanksgiving day the default first response is God, family or friends. And afterwards comes the long line of possessions that make our lives ‘happier’. But if we replaced thankfulness with repentance, there wouldn’t be in as cheerful moods to stuff our faces. Its true! As Americans we count our ‘blessings’, but if we were to response as Christians, the answer would be in reconciliation.
We have taken the true concept of thankfulness and shaped it into something it was never meant to be. Our American pride and commercialism has had too much of a hold on the context of our to celebrate Holidays.
From all this, I more strongly believe that my parents had the right idea in never allowing us to have a tree, because the symbolism of gifts takes away from the true ‘grammar’ of Christmas.
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