The settlers in New England and Canada celebrated "Thanksgiving" for the first time as random "days of thanksgiving," in the form of prayers for blessings such as safe journeys, military victories, or abundant harvests. Later, Americans modeled their celebration on a harvest festival held in 1621, attended by the Wampanoag people and some English settlers seeking refuge from persecution in their British homeland, who came to be known as the "Pilgrims." In most North American households today, families primarily celebrate the grace of being together, without acknowledgment or even awareness of the historical myths surrounding the transformation of these religious rituals into a national holiday known to all as "Thanksgiving."
This holiday has become a way to give thanks for the blessings of life without paying attention to the dark foundations upon which these separatist British colonies were established, including genocidal methods used to clear the land of Indigenous peoples and the importation of African slaves to make the land productive. These workers, brutally mistreated in cotton fields and farmlands, were forcibly removed from their distant homelands by one of the most predatory crimes of early capitalism. For progressives, as with other holidays naïvely celebrated, notably "Columbus Day," these festivities have increasingly become moments to recall the moral failings of past societies and criminal states.
This year, "Thanksgiving" takes on a particularly problematic character, not because of the past but because of the present. For me, it would be better celebrated as a day of remembrance and regret. This somber perspective allows for creative tensions between enjoying a turkey meal and acknowledging the onset of deliberate mass starvation in Gaza among Palestinians surviving recent Israeli attacks, including interference with food delivery by humanitarian workers and international aid. This year is also a grim reminder of the active role of the U.S. government in escalating nuclear risks and its refusal of diplomacy in the Ukraine war. The United States, along with many NATO allies, is prepared, for illusions, to sacrifice Ukrainian lives and well-being while increasing the probabilities of a major war to humiliate Russia with a battlefield defeat.
By remembering and regretting this year, we can restore sobriety to a popular holiday through a careful examination of our national spirit of Western global dominance, experienced by the disillusioned and fearful peoples of the world. Let us hope that in 2025, we can celebrate Thanksgiving with a moderated faith, but with awareness and genuine goodwill, recognizing that the precious blessings of life are for all.
You can read the English version on the author’s blog "Global Justice in the 21st Century".
Professor Richard Falk, a member of the Alkarama Advisory Committee, is a scholar of international law and international relations. He taught at Princeton University for forty years and currently teaches at the University of California’s local campus in the fields of global and international studies. Between 2008 and 2014, he served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He has been nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize since 2009.