At what point my colleagues plan to post is a mystery, as is the amount of people who regularly read this blog, but given that Thanksgiving just passed, I think it's important to discuss the importance of holidays as symbols as opposed to re-enactments.
The motivation for this thought was derived from a gossip story I heard recently about an American masters student who paid 60 euro for a Turkey for the sake of the tradition. Now, if you have money at your disposal, maybe 60 euro is as much as you'd pay for a 2-person dinner out, and therefore a big turkey for 8 people for 60 euro (or whatever size it was) makes sense. Regardless, I think the attention here was too much on the details of the holiday and too little on the heart of the holiday. As a member of any culture, it's nice to share that culture with others and receive new ways of looking at living in return. But thanksgiving for me has always been a symbol of family and friendships, and being 'thankful' for what you have--the people, the opportunity, the ability to sit down and enjoy a good meal with good people, and so on. It's not about Turkey, or the genocide of Native Americans, or sweet potatoes. It's about bringing together the closest relationships in your life as best you can and enjoying what you have in this world.
On a different yet similar note, see Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. Weird cultural differences are abound. In the Netherlands, a holiday like Sinterklaas that is obviously built around colonialism and exploitation of labor is not seen to be racist. It is, to be honest, a bit strange to me.
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