Thanksgiving

by Max
Thanksgiving is a quintessential autumn day. It falls near the end of autumn when the once vibrant and beautiful nature has been crippled and is shriveling away. This day is when we celebrate the end of the end. Outside there is the usual autumn scent. It is the scent of dead leaves. If you pick one up you will feel the dust of the earth rub off onto your hands. Somehow you can even taste them. The air is damp and cold yet pleasant in a way. The grass feels thin as if the earth is going bald. Everything is truly dead outside. Inside you find the opposite. Everybody is lively and having a good time. Houses are warm and cozy and busy with guests. These two opposite worlds exist on this day; a world of life, and one of death. This shows how people are set apart from nature. We do not die like the leaves on the trees. We do not go to rest and lay dormant like other animals. Instead, we gather in a very different place away from the decay of the world outside.
One of the interesting aspects of Thanksgiving is that the meaning of the holiday has changed. It originated as a patriotic holiday celebrating the great feast the Pilgrims had. However, one could argue that people do not really honor this. I cannot remember the last time I thought about Pilgrims on Thanksgiving. For most, Thanksgiving has transformed to be more about family. This day is when I get to see the largest portion of my family in one place. For the last six or so years Thanksgiving has been held at my house. Attendance has been about 30 people each year. Since my dad comes from a family or fourteen it is hard to get all of us together. Thanksgiving is the largest gathering in our family. Of course with a family this big not everyone shows up but still it is a large party. We all live our separate lives during the year, but at the end of it we all come together for this holiday. When the guests arrive there is camaraderie in a kitchen that is not big enough to house everybody but for whatever reason all gather in the one room. Once the meet and greets are over people split up. Some are outside by the deep fryer waiting for the turkey to be dropped in. Others remain in the kitchen with my mother while she bastes another turkey in the oven. Some just find somewhere to sit and chat. I am in my room or out in the garage listening to and playing music with my cousins much too loud. Before the meal begins there is a large buffet laid out in the kitchen. Everybody gets in line to get his food. Everything, from salad to sweet potatoes to green beans, is present. Of course at the end of the line are turkey and gravy. All of the food is glistening with oil. None of it could possibly be healthy and is about to be consumed in mass quantities by all attending. In one dining room 30 people squeeze together between various sized tables. The seating arrangement is random. Adults eat with children, couples are not necessarily together but it does not matter. We are all family. Nobody is concerned with who they are sitting next to. Everybody converses about what has been going on in our lives. Over this meal we share our stories and enjoy each other’s company. All of this great social activity happens on one day. Thanksgiving is a time of family bonding.