There are religious holidays, and cultural holidays. Thanksgiving is one of the latter, though certainly celebrated with fervor. There is a school of thought--and they are not wrong--which holds that there is nothing to be celebrated in the story of the first Thanksgiving. It's a dreadful tale of starvation, trust misplaced, and the tenuous beginnings of the European genocide of the First Nations. Instead of being gluttons, we should fast and be ashamed.
I think that view is entirely true.
But it's not the whole truth of the holiday.
I'm white--or largely so, as far as anyone knows, anyway--and I am grateful and pleased to live here, where I live, in this beautiful sacred place. Without that first year, the mythical pilgrims and Indians sitting down together in peace and plenty, mayhap I wouldn't be here. Perhaps my soul would be in Scotland, and just as thrilled with my lot there!
Still, I am a creature of THIS land. It is my home. If it were mine to do, I like to think I would not be one who passed out smallpox blankets or massacred villages or drove whole peoples out of their ancestral lands or spared no effort to obliterate their language and sacred beliefs. That my family and the First People communities near us would be friendly, learn from each other.
We saw a little of this conundrum expressed in Cozumel. In the town center, there is a sculpture.
Two figures stand before a replica of a Mayan Temple: a conquistador, and a Mayan woman with a baby. The people of Cozumel are Mestizo. Those figures are their ancestral parents. Whatever passed during conquest--and as we know, it was no prettier than what transpired in North America--the people have chosen to forgive it, to love themselves despite their origin.
For our holiday this year, we had some of our bests friends over. This year, they learned a bitter and difficult truth about their health. We are grateful for their continued presence in our lives and it was lovely to feast with them!
Here, in humility, gratitude, and celebration of this beautiful Land and our beloved friends and family, are the dishes we ate this year for Thanksgiving.
Veggie tray with dill dip
Stuffed Portobellos with Cheese and Walnuts
mashed potatoes
garlic butter
gravy
spicy mixed greens salad
cranberry and pine nut vinaigrette
pumpkin cheescake
Christmas menu:
Quorn roast with vegetables in gravy
Green beans with slow-roasted tomatoes and dill
Greek salad
Apple cranberry crumble
New Year's Eve and Day
Layered bean dip with fresh veggies and cheese
Spicy-sweet blackeyed peas
Dandelion greens with Potatoes (see video)
cornbread
