Article November 25, 2002 Issue

What's coming to light about Thanksgiving

By Bettie Gray Sentinel staff

From china to South America to Greece, since communities of people of vairous religions — Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity—have gathered with hearts full of thanks for bountiful harvests, for progress, for survival itself. A number of countries observe Thanksgiving as a national holiday: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Korea, Liberia, as well as the United States.

Myths have often surrounded the American holiday, assigning to this country an "ownership" of Thanksgiving that does not exist. Giving thanks to a Higher Power, a Supreme Being, is a universal impulse felt by all people. Thanksgiving has a spiritual basis.

At its inception in 1947, Plimouth Plantation, a historical museum on the southeastern coast of Massachusetts, was meant to honor the English people who colonized the area. Over time, Plimouth evolved into a living history museum, a replica of the 17th-century village, staffed by interpreters who describe to visitors their life and work in the context of the times. For many years, the focus was solely on these colonists, commonly called "Pilgrims."

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