(At the follwing of what we did last time)

The second document under study is an extract from a book entitled “America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations”, published in 1994. We have learned that the Pilgrims transformed Thanksgiving as a religious holiday to thank God for their lives, for their abundant harvest and for having protected them against the Native Americans whom/who they considered as savages. In fact, we can see that The Pilgrims and the Natives had a very bad relationship, indeed, they hated each other. Eventually, for the Pilgrims, Thanksgiving is a religious feast not to thank the Native Americans but to thank God. In addition, collecting an abundant crop was the way for them to prove that they received God’s providence. This event happened the third year after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth Rock.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (At the follwing of what we did last time)

The second document is an extract from “America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations”, published in 1994. We have here the point of view of the Pilgrims as we can read the signature at the end of the text with the mention of the “colony”.

We have learned that Thanksgiving was transformed into a religious holiday by the Pilgrims. In fact, they are invited to pray on that day to thank their Lord of the Lords for being “civilized”, to have flourishing lands and abundant crops. They were called to gather together with their families. They also thanked God for having protected them from the Native Americans whom they saw as savages. On top of that, the fact that this order was given by a governor reflects the intention to create a united national holiday that promotes the Pilgrims values at the time.

On the other hand, to qualify the Native Americans as savages, Thanksgiving loses its meaning of being a symbol of friendship between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Trump Assassination Attempt

The document under study is an extract of an article from Le Monde written by Corine Lesnes published on July 14, 2024. It deals with the attempt assassination of Donald Trump that happened the day before on July 13 during a rally in  Pennsylvania. Trump was shot in the ear. Lots of videos of this incident went viral online. Trump survived however, one of his supporters who was behind him received the fatal bullet.

After this event, Trump took this event as an opportunity to gain more popularity  and some of his supporters saw a sign of divine intervention in his protection for him to become the next president.

Through this article, we understand that Trump uses this event to promote his campaign by depicting himself as a hero, a martyr. Moreover, he would also be seen as someone that was chosen by God to accomplish great things for America according to his supporters.

To conclude, this event was beneficial for his campaign it might have helped some people who were hesitating to make a decision to see him as a person who will never stop fighting.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Reconsidering Myth (Part 2)

The first document under study is an extract from an article entitled “Native American Harvest Feasts Before Thanksgiving”,  published in 2018. We have learned that Native Americans had been celebrating their own Thanksgiving thousands years ago before the arrival of the European colonists. They were thankful for their lives, the abundant crops that nature gave them, they were organizing their ceremonies after the first full moon of September.

Eventually, the Pilgrims did not invent the concept of Thanksgiving, they were inspired by the one of the Native Americans.

(We will continue the study of the document next time. Be ready!)

Reconsidering the Myth (Part 1)

The document under study is a video about the evolution of how people have celebrated Thanksgiving, published by History Channel in November 2012. We have learned that the first Thanksgiving was in 1621 when the Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to share a meal together to celebrate their first abundant harvest. At that time, they killed 5 deer and ate their meat called venison, raw cranberries. It is interesting to note that at the time, they did not have turkey, mashed potatoes or even pumpkin pie. We heard that this event was not repeated every year. However, on November 26^th, 1789 President George Washington organized the first official Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, it was not repeated every year as well. Then, in the 19^th century, Sarah Josepha Hale protested for 30 years for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday. In fact, she was inspired by reading Pilgrims’ diaries. Her goal was to recreate and nurture this tradition. Moreover, she created recipes to reinforce the tradition. It was only in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving official to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt fixed it on the fourth Thursday of November in the 1940s.

One last funny tradition was put in place by President George H.W. Bush organized an official pardon ceremony for a turkey in 1989 which would not be eaten but sent into a farm for the rest of its life. This tradition was pursued by every president after him in the White House.

To conclude, the goal of this video is to maintain the myth of the festival, to teach people about the story of thanksgiving and to show the misconceptions people had about this festival.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (At the following of what we did last time)

We can hear one Native American man, who is in charge of the organization of the remembrance/the commemoration of what he calls a “thankstaking”.

Contrary to what everybody thinks, the first Thanksgiving did not happen in 1621 but in 1637. In fact, it was organized by Governor Winthrop to give thanks to the colonist soldiers who participated in the slaughter of the Native American tribe called the Peqout in Mystic, Connecticut. On top of that, they also stole their lands on that same occasion.

The goal of the organization of the National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving Day is to grieve the genocide of their ancestors as a form of protest. They gather in the streets to celebrate their lost culture through traditional dances and songs as a form of remembrance. It is a peaceful protest to raise awareness about/to shed light on the real story of this holiday.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (At the follwoing of what we did last time)

We can hear one Native American man, who is in charge of the organization of the remembrance/the commemoration of what he calls a “thankstaking”.

Indeed, even if everybody thinks that the first Thanksgiving was in 1621, we have learned that it actually was in 1637 when  Governor Winthrop wanted to give thanks to the soldiers who killed Peqout Tribe at Mystic, Connecticut. On top of that, the settlers eventually stole their lands. Moreover, the historic propaganda and lies have created a referential illusion for most Americans who do not even know this sad reality unfortunately. One of the big struggles of this movement is to break the myth about this holiday.

Therefore, on the National Day of Mourning, observed on the same day as Thanksgiving as a form of protest, the goal is to denounce the genocide of the Native Americans’ ancestors and the stealing of their lands, besides it is to shed light on the truth on what really happened back then. On top of that, they also celebrate their lost culture. It is also an opportunity to exalt their feelings due to the great decline of their cultural world. On that day, to highlight the richness of their culture they do traditional dances and singing, they walk pass statues and monuments that pay tribute to their ancestors.

Homework: Learn the lesson.