By Ivan Marjanovic De Tonya
Thanksgiving
A Celebration of Life and Giving
“Song of Solomon” by unknown artist
Life and giving – two words of generosity, the true symbols of human and earthly on goings. To live and to give by giving in return – how both poetic and prophetic “thanksgiving” was as far back as the earliest sharing of food and fire, and life itself by the first men and women in outmost cradles of human civilizations.
History is full of peace loving rituals and war lamenting crescendos, yet celebration of life itself and giving in various forms are still the most beautiful, for sharing life unites us all no matter what color, no matter what nationalities, no matter what religious beliefs, no matter what spoken words. Only in true sharing of life and in thanks for it we are true human beings.
Thanksgiving around the World
As early as in first civilizations, the ancient people thanked their gods for life and for taking care of them by way of food, sun and water supplies, be it rivers, lakes, oceans or tiny fishponds. For a great Chinese proverb says: “Give a fish to a man and he will survive one day. Teach him how to fish and he will live for many years.” Water and sun are the prerequisites of life on Earth.
The earliest Egyptians celebrated the Nile River. They used Nile water supplies to water their crops. At harvest time, they sacrificed fruit, grain, and animals to their gods. They built pyramids as a thank you to their gods, which later were accepted in the form of their ruler. Today, we still discover pyramids with chambers full of sacrificed goods telling us of the way Egyptians lived four to five thousand years ago.
“The Good Harvest of 1854” by Charles Allston Collins
Romans celebrated the goddess of grain. At the time of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who built the famous Diocletian palace in Split in now days Croatia, and who, according to history books, was not very fond of Christianity, enjoyed festivities honoring the “old” goddess of grain, Ceres. Our today’s word of cereal comes from Ceres.
Mayans in Central and South America and American natives in the US celebrated corn harvest festival and ate turkey for centuries before the European colonization of the continents.
Wild Turkeys – photographer unknown
In China, Chinese people still make good wish, moon-like, cookies celebrating the centuries old tradition according which the moon plowed the heavens and therefore helped the harvest on earth. The earliest said celebration was called Chung Ch’ui.
In England, some farmers still believe that a spirit lives in their crops, therefore making their food healthy. Modern October fest in many parts of the world is a direct celebration of all harvests.
In many parts of the world, certain months of the year celebrate times of giving life and beauty to the world. Women often symbolize a certain month, therefore giving a particular month a special meaning, particularly the meaning of beauty and fertility.
“Flaming June” by Frederick Lord Leighton
In Russia and in former Soviet block countries, especially in Ukraine, where potatoes are one of the basic food produce, there is a tradition of thanking in a form of special hospitality – boiled potatoes are offered on daily basis to any friendly traveler. This tradition was related to me by one of my uncles, who became a prisoner of war in Galicia during the World War I. This author describes this tradition in one of his novels: “In the middle of the room, there was a large wooden rectangular table. In each corner of the table there a spoon-size hole was filled with salt. The smell of freshly boiled potatoes from large wooden bowl was filling the entire room.”
In Bulgaria, as well as in Hungary and Poland, people dress wooden carriages with fruit t of the harvest and sing and dance all day long.
Today, Italians still celebrate special days of grapes and olives. In now days Italy, particularly in Sicily, and in Sicilian communities around the world, wooden carriages are decorated with lively antic Roman paintings and Italian vistas when celebrating the harvest of olive and grapes.
Sicilian Horse Carriage – San Diego, “Little Italy”, 2008 - photo by I.M. De Tonya
“Grape Harvest Girl” by Ljubomir Aleksandrovic
In Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in northern Serbia, depending on the kind of harvest, people celebrate harvest season by dressing themselves with fruits of the harvest. In Slavonia and Srijem regions, and in other parts of Croatia where corn and wheat are primary sources of food, some people dress themselves in corn leaves, wear straw hats, and carry corn sticks and baskets made of straws, spikes with grain intact, full of eatable goodies. Grape Days are very special throughout Croatia and in parts of Fruska Gora in northern Serbia. In winter and as a must before Christmas, the killing of pigs (kolinje and/or svinjokolja) take place – singers and dancers in masquerades go door to door to express good wishes and to thank the host for the goodies they receive in small amounts, as gifts, of the day.
“Corn Harvest Girl” in black ink - by Ivan Marjanovic De Tonya
We did not even mention the celebration of saints, the so-called kirnbaj and/or kirvaj – when each village and town celebrates its saint and invites a large number of family and friends from other villages and towns to share the food and enjoy the ongoing festivities. Annual Folklore festivals in Zagreb, Vinkovci, Djakovo, Dubrovnik and many other places in Croatia every year celebrate the centuries old musical, folklore, and cultural traditions of our Croatian people, as a way of thanking our ancestors for our Croatian heritage, food preparation included – during these festivals people proudly show their regional culinary creations too..
In many European countries, a woman or a girl is a symbol of fertility and of harvest itself. Women depict harvesters, depending what kind of seasonal labor they perform.
“Wool Spinning Girl” by Jules Breton
In medieval times and much earlier, people of various Slavonic national origins in the Balkan Peninsula participated in pastoral plays called “Dodolke”. People would dress in green, possible fresh tree leaves and recite poetry calling upon goddess of rain “Dodolka” to let rains come in dry seasons.
In any case, people around the world express their wishes for a better life and give their thanks for such a good life.
Thanksgiving in the US
“The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris (1863-1930)
Thanksgiving in the US is a national holiday and is celebrated as the fourth Thursday in November. In Canada, the Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated on the second Monday of October. According to history books, Native Americans celebrated every time they harvested something. At the time of colonization of North America, Indians and Pilgrims from England would get together and celebrate harvests together as early as in 1621. In autumn they celebrated the harvest by preparing wild turkey for meal. In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving, alto some were opposed to it. President Thomas Jefferson himself opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
Following the first armed conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers, these joint celebrations ceased but the noble tradition of sharing goods gained momentum in mid-1800s, when Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor of a famous magazine called Godey’s Lady’s Book wrote an article suggesting a national Thanksgiving Day. By the 1850s, most states celebrated an official Thanksgiving. Following the civil war between the North and South, in which North defeated South, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national Thanksgiving Holiday.
President Abraham Lincoln
It is worth noting that President Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird. As we know today, our American national bird is the white eagle instead. Yet, the tradition of having turkey at Thanksgiving remains to this day.
In 1941, the United States Congress made the Thanksgiving a national holiday. There is a co-tradition surrounding the turkeys at Thanksgiving Day: each Thanksgiving Day the American President “pardons” a white turkey at a special meeting with press at the White House – that turkey is let go free.
White “Thanksgiving” Turkey – photo by Ivan Marjanovic De Tonya
It is hereby noted that Grape Day Festivals, Pumpkin Festivals, Apple Day Festivals and many other festivals are being held usually in October each year throughout the US, as a way of thanking God and Nature for giving us food and for keeping us in prosperity.
One needs to understand that differences among peoples are beautiful and that our similarities and sharing of life and goods make us more human – that is tremendously a lot to be thankful for at Thanksgiving Day and, as the matter of fact, at any time throughout the year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
