This week is Thanksgiving week. For Thanksgiving, my whole family normally comes over. We typically all cook, or my mom typically cooks, one really huge meal for all of us, as most families do. However, my family is composed of 10 people, not including in-laws, nephews, or nieces. Therefore, our meal is bigger than the typical home’s Thanksgiving dinner. This allows us to recognize the privilege of being able to afford a Thanksgiving dinner and feed/provide for the people in your family. This encouraged my mom, my sister, and I to all cook some dessert dishes for our neighbors.
We all cooked various pies and cakes for a few of our neighbors, which added multiple hours to our already lengthy Thanksgiving dinner preparation, but this hard work was arguably worth it. Me and my nephews went to deliver the dishes to our neighbors and we were able to get to know our neighbors better as well as make new friends. My family just moved to this neighborhood last year, so we weren’t very familiar with everyone before this. This act allowed us to talk more to our neighbors and they got to know us better as well.
This was especially important and valuable, not only because we go to make friends, but because it was an act of kindness. The point behind Thanksgiving is to take a day to be thankful and recognize all of what you have instead of what you’re lacking. It’s a day where you’re encouraged to think of others and be considerate. Therefore, by doing this we were adhering to the message of Thanksgiving as well as doing a good act.
Though, there’s also a lot to recognize about this holiday and the truckloads of racism and genocide it was built on. Before celebrating Thanksgiving, it’s important to learn the history of Native Americans who came before us and who had to lose everything in order for us to have these things that we’re so grateful for. As of 2020, there are no federally recognized American Indian tribes in Georgia, however, there are 4 state recognized tribes: The Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe, The Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council, The United Creeks of Georgia, and an undisclosed tribe. Getting to know these tribes and their culture is an easy way to educate yourself. It’s also important to recognize our privilege in being able to celebrate on this day instead of mourning our ancestors.
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