It is that time of the year when knives are
sharpened and plump feathery beasts are served on elaborated tables as guests
of honor. If you are in the USA, you mustn't miss this national celebration:
Thanksgiving. The American tradition wants to commemorate the first harsh
winter of the Pilgrim Fathers, who supposedly celebrated with a banquet the
abundance of this rich land and thanked the Lord (I guess) and their kind
neighbors (the original inhabitants) for the protection, help and generosity
given to them. In fact, they had a lot to be thankful for.
When we went to see Plymouth plantation and
the Mayflower, visitors get a little taste of what life could have been like
when the first pilgrims and puritans set foot on the new continent. Seeing what
they had to go through, I thought that if it had been up to me, there would be
nothing to celebrate today! I would have turned the boat around. Their
desperation had been strong enough to make them put up with all the hardships
they were about to embark. Religious persecution in England must have been a
far worse demon than a bleak stormy ocean, unfriendly savages and overall a
life of deprivations (but after all, they were puritans, so I believe they
didn't expect to find Las Vegas on the other side of the world).
But let's go back
to that winter in 1620. The first immigrants had made it safe and sound on a
wooden ship after a month sailing from England to Cape Cod, which is a miracle
by itself. Close your eyes and try to imagine sharing a common room/deck with
more than a hundred people for more than a month with almost no food left!?
They must have been extremely disciplined, no doubt about that. I am saying it
only because I can imagine myself getting cranky, complaining about the food,
lack of privacy, seasickness, noisy and smelly travel companions...probably,
after the second day of navigation they would have thrown me overboard!! As
pilgrims of the 21st century, we can hardly take a flight of 9 hours without
complaining, can you imagine a voyage longer than a month in ghastly weather
conditions?!
I swallow hard and
proceed, I am thankful I can travel by plane, even though I am not a fan. We,
modern pilgrims, also have a share of issues when coming to the USA; from less
than relaxing flights, which can drain you out if you are a nervous type by
nature (sometimes I feel like getting on my knees and kiss the ground under my
feet), to even far less friendly airport security checks. My first time in the
USA was greeted by a brutal "unwelcome to the USA" in Denver. I had
no idea what racism and profiling was, but I learnt all this all too quickly in
the longest and most extenuating 3 hours or more I was held for questioning by
a nasty C.B.P. officer-woman. Hard to believe that a high school student would
spend a summer abroad to study the language! Anyhow, after that first shocking
experience, I have traveled more and met definitely nicer and friendlier C.B.P.
officers. At JKF I met a really nice border patrol officer and we both had a
hysterical laugh. I was asked to take my sneakers off. The only problem was
that the day before there had been a power cut on all the East coast, nothing
was working and passengers had spent the night sleeping on the floors. It was
August, very hot and humid. With a smile on my face and not at all embarrassed,
I asked him if he was sure, because my shoes were a bacteriological bomb
judging by their smell! He cracked down laughing and I was glad: some people
have a sense of humor and I love laughing!
However, back to
our story of almost four century ago: landing successfully on the American
shore was only a brief moment of glory for those brave souls. There was no
hotel or already set up lodgings to welcome them with a warm shower, warm food,
proper clothes and nice clean sheet to sleep in. They were welcomed by a cold
winter and the wilderness of New England. Not surprisingly, half of the people
who undertook the first voyage died in the first winter in Plymouth, MA. They
had to be self reliant in everything and rely on each other. The housings they
built were unfit for that climate, as well as the seeds they had brought from
England which were almost useless to cultivate in that environment. They were
doomed if it hadn't been for the intervention of some friendly Natives, the
same ones the puritans called "savages", the irony here is the pot
calling the kettle black. In fact, the puritans had a weird way to show their
gratitude.
It is very likely
that some indigenous people were moved out of pity or human kindness towards
the helpless hoard and their help was crucial for the survival of the Europeans
through the first winter. However, as history teaches, the relations must have
been chaotic from the very beginning to say the least. Despite the help
received, the puritans didn't trust their neighbors and soon enough built
fences and towers around their settlement. On the other side, the indigenous
people felt a danger coming from those newcomers who were spreading and taking over
their land. And their fears came true. Not even twenty years later several tribes
like the Pequot, who were originally located in the south east corner of
Connecticut, had been declared "banned", the few survivors left were
sold as slaves. The pilgrims had indeed a weird way to show their gratitude.
Prosperity was finally coming to them and nothing was going to stop them.
But now back to us,
and to the turkey awaiting! Being away from home will make you feel a bit
homesick as this festivity is typically celebrated with family and friends, so
don't pass on invitations of friends to stick together for this holiday. Enjoy
their company and taste the typical American cuisine: cranberry sauce, sweet
potatoes, stuffed turkey, gravy, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. Let's get in
the mood and think: what are you thankful for?
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