Like America, most people hate Thanksgiving. I am a supporter of Thanksgiving, so this article will serve as a defense of the American holiday. I will begin by addressing the various reasons why people may not like Thanksgiving.
- Your family makes dry, unseasoned turkey. It is a real shame that some people’s negative characterization of Thanksgiving is actually just a condemnation of the food they eat. Admittedly, turkey is a difficult meat to work with; it requires copious amounts of butter and spices and gravy to make it palatable. Or if you are cool, your dad, uncle or grandfather has a turkey deep fryer. In this case, you will either have a succulent, delicious turkey or a house fire, no in between. With regard to turkey, I do not really understand what is stopping you from buying and liberally applying some Tony Chachere’s cajun seasoning and butter to the meat. Moreover, there are thousands of turkey recipes online, but year after year, your family butchers the turkey, literally.
- You just aren’t in the “thankful” mood. This one is quite ridiculous. Thanksgiving has all the prerequisites to make you thankful: pumpkin pie, alcohol, football and your crazed aunt. If you feel like you are not in the “thankful” mood at Thanksgiving, then it means you have not eaten enough pie, drank enough alcohol, watched enough football or laughed enough at your aunt. Simple. Life could be worse. You could be reincarnated as the ugly cousin of the chicken and live a miserable existence stuck in an iron prison, only to get slaughtered and subsequently overcooked at somebody’s house in rural Indiana.
- You dislike colonialism. Okay, fair point. But I would argue that the history behind Thanksgiving has been so saturated over the years. Most Americans don’t even know who the Pilgrims were. All we know, now, is Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Black Friday sales and break from work/school. This is not to say that we have not forgotten America’s history of colonialism, but a majority of people celebrating the holiday have no ties or connection to the people who settled here in the 1600s. It is ridiculous that I, a son of two Vietnamese immigrants, have to atone for the sins of some John Smith hundreds of years ago. Moreover, celebrating Thanksgiving is completely optional. If it does not vibe well with you, no one is begging you to celebrate it. Simple.
- Notre Dame does not give us ample time to celebrate it. This is the most reasonable argument against Thanksgiving for Notre Dame students. Thanksgiving break is admittedly very short, which makes traveling back home impractical or impossible for many. The timing is inopportune, yes. I wonder why Notre Dame gives us more time for a hoedown in Nashville during fall break than to spend time with family and friends at Thanksgiving. Moreover, in the spring semester, we have more time to “spend time in warmer weather” in Fort Lauderdale during spring break than celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during Easter break. Odd.
- “Civic discourse” with your Republican uncle. I understand why this could dampen your Thanksgiving celebration. You are in for a treat this Thanksgiving — I can’t really help you.
Overall, I believe that all Americans should enjoy Thanksgiving or at least try to enjoy it. It is a break, though brief, from the hustle and bustle of life to reconnect with family and friends. It is a time of reflection on the blessings you have in your life, and no matter how pessimistic or ungrateful you are, you have so many blessings to appreciate, whether you like it or not.
Never in the course of my article did I say that Thanksgiving was a “perfect” holiday. If anything, it is an exceptional one. It is exceptional both in theory and in practice, and this is the case because it happens in America, an exceptional nation. In no other place will you find people gobbling down pounds of turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie with such zeal. In no other place will you find a holiday that has competing themes of obsessive consumerism and kinship. In no other place will you find a nation founded on and constantly striving for human liberty and opportunity for all peoples. Though imperfect, Thanksgiving and America are ideals that I am very much thankful for.
Jonah Tran is a junior at Notre Dame studying finance and classics. He prides himself on sarcasm and never surrendering. You can file complaints to Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.
