2008 Woodie Awards
Thanksgiving tradition celebrated across millennia by myriad of cultures
Brett Sowerby
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Style
Thanksgiving isn't necessarily a strictly American tradition. Although it has gone by many different names, the idea of Thanksgiving has been celebrated for a few millennia in countries all over the world - even Canada has one - with the intent to show gratefulness to another year gone by and a stored crop to show for it.
In ancient China, there was a birthday party for the moon. The ancient Chinese saw a rabbit when they looked upon the surface of the moon, so to show their respect to the celestial body, special cakes were made and rabbit effigies were stamped on top.
The Hebrew population had their own harvest holiday, celebrated shortly after the important holy day Yom Kippur. This celebration also dealt with the full moon. Although not as widely observed, Sukkot traditionally consisted of building small huts and hanging fruits and vegetables in memory of Moses and the Israelites wandering for 40 years.
Credited with teaching mankind how to grow and prepare crops, Demeter was the Greek goddess of the bountiful harvest. In much the same way as is celebrated today, the early Greeks held feasts in the name of Demeter, showing their gratitude for another year of successful crops.
The Romans had a similar celebration, paying homage to their version of Demeter, Ceres - from which the English word "cereal" was derived, seeing as she is the goddess of corn and other grains.
As most of us were taught in early grade school, American Thanksgiving was based off the first Europeans to successfully survive in North America. After incurring huge losses in their population during their first year, the Plymouth settlers - later dubbed Pilgrims - held a celebration for having an unstinted harvest. Traditionally, we were told that this celebration was the coming together of Native Americans and English settlers, but in reality, the Pilgrims invited the leader of the closest tribe, Massasoit, among others, to attempt to assuage their already strained relationship.
In ancient China, there was a birthday party for the moon. The ancient Chinese saw a rabbit when they looked upon the surface of the moon, so to show their respect to the celestial body, special cakes were made and rabbit effigies were stamped on top.
The Hebrew population had their own harvest holiday, celebrated shortly after the important holy day Yom Kippur. This celebration also dealt with the full moon. Although not as widely observed, Sukkot traditionally consisted of building small huts and hanging fruits and vegetables in memory of Moses and the Israelites wandering for 40 years.
Credited with teaching mankind how to grow and prepare crops, Demeter was the Greek goddess of the bountiful harvest. In much the same way as is celebrated today, the early Greeks held feasts in the name of Demeter, showing their gratitude for another year of successful crops.
The Romans had a similar celebration, paying homage to their version of Demeter, Ceres - from which the English word "cereal" was derived, seeing as she is the goddess of corn and other grains.
As most of us were taught in early grade school, American Thanksgiving was based off the first Europeans to successfully survive in North America. After incurring huge losses in their population during their first year, the Plymouth settlers - later dubbed Pilgrims - held a celebration for having an unstinted harvest. Traditionally, we were told that this celebration was the coming together of Native Americans and English settlers, but in reality, the Pilgrims invited the leader of the closest tribe, Massasoit, among others, to attempt to assuage their already strained relationship.
Be the first to comment on this story