Thanksgiving?

So it is Thanksgiving again, a time when people say we give thanks. Thanks in what manner, I ask? 

While most Americans think of the Pilgrims as celebrating the first Thanksgiving in America, some claim that others in the New World should be recognized as first. For example, in Texas, there is a marker that says, "Feast of the First Thanksgiving—1541."  But who knows if the marker is correct and not placed only for marketing?

The date of what is typically recognized as the first Thanksgiving has yet to be precisely known either.  Most early documents state it occurred between September 21 and November 9, 1621. The Plymouth Pilgrims dined with the Wampanoag Indians for the first Thanksgiving in that period.  There are reports that the First Thanksgiving lasted for three days?

Edward Winslow, a supposed participant in the first Thanksgiving (1621), wrote that the feast consisted of corn, barley, fowl, wild turkeys and waterfowl, and venison, with 52 pilgrims attending.  The first Thanksgiving supposedly included John Alden, William Bradford, Priscilla Mullins, and Miles Standish. 
 Some say approximately 50 Native Americans attended the first Thanksgiving, including Massasoit and Squanto - the Pilgrim's translator. 


Some believe the first Thanksgiving was a secular event that was not repeated. A Calvinist Thanksgiving, documented in 1623, did not involve sharing food with the Native Americans. 
 The first National Thanksgiving celebration was declared in 1775 by the Continental Congress to celebrate the victory at Saratoga during the American Revolution. It was not an annual event. 


In 1863, two national days of Thanksgiving were declared: One celebrated the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, and the other began the Thanksgiving holiday we still celebrate today. 


After getting these fragmented facts off the internet, I still do not have the answer I am looking for: What is Thanksgiving? Is it more of a commercialized event? Is it the day we all celebrate, as we have the chance to buy what we do not need at a discount the day after?

The generally accepted Thanksgiving is a time to get together with loved ones, eat a lot of food, watch some football, and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Many homes will be decorated with horns of plenty, dried corn, and other 'symbols' of Thanksgiving. Schoolchildren across America will 'reenact' Thanksgiving by dressing as either pilgrims or Wampanoag Indians and sharing a meal of some sort. All of this is wonderful for helping create a sense of family and national identity and remembering to say thanks at least once a year. However, as with many other holidays and events in American History, many of these commonly believed traditions about the origins and celebration of this holiday are based more on myth than fact. Let's look at the truth behind our celebration of Thanksgiving.

And as an afterthought, maybe the Indian movement who think the North Dakota Sioux need to change their name will there soon be a protest of little 3^rd graders dressing like Indians for a reenactment?  So I am thankful for so much, but I am also distressed by more.

Happy Holidays and Carry on!