"After a devastating first winter that wiped out nearly half the pilgrims, the Wampanoag people taught the survivors to cultivate corn, tap maple trees and fish local waters. The generosity of the first Americans was the settlers' salvation. And while that three-day harvest celebration was part of a too-brief alliance, the tale we tell ourselves about that first Thanksgiving teaches us the lifesaving grace of welcoming the stranger, of sharing gifts across profound cultural differences and the possibility of peaceful coexistence."
"The second story, almost 250 years later, offers a brief bright spot in the darkest hour of our still-young nation. In 1863, halfway through the Civil War, as brother fought brother on American battlefields, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving. Notably, he did not frame this observance as a chest-thumping declaration of military victory or as a decree of national greatness. Instead, he called upon Americans to find unity in gratitude itself."
Two founding Thanksgiving stories arise from moments of division and scarcity and demonstrate rescue through generosity and gratitude. In 1621, Wampanoag assistance taught starving settlers agriculture, fishing, and tree tapping, enabling survival and a brief harvest celebration that modeled welcoming strangers and sharing across cultural divides. In 1863, amid the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving not as triumph but as an invitation to seek unity through shared gratitude, suggesting that acknowledging common blessings can help bridge profound political and social rifts.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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