A Day of Thanksgiving, Unthanksgiving, and French Toast

Today is not a day for writing.

Hopefully, if you are observing Thanksgiving, today is a day for celebrating without having to buy gifts, family interaction (enjoyable or bickering), football games, the Macy’s parade, and turkey and other traditional dishes. I could go into the history of the holiday and how there was once numerous days declared to be Thanksgiving for different events. It wasn’t until Lincoln suggested that as the country came out of the Civil War, Thanksgiving should be observed by all on the final Thursday of November. Future presidents continued to adopt the final Thursday holiday he had declared until 1939, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt moved it to the Fourth Thursday of November. His logic was that it would benefit merchants by giving people an extra week to shop for Christmas. In 1942, the day was memorialized as a federal holiday.

But for Native Americans, today is considered Unthanksgiving or the National Day of Mourning. Beginning in 1970, they gather at noon on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts for a march through historic Plymouth. Sponsored by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE), the holiday stresses remembrance and spiritual connection while protesting the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience. All people are encouraged to participate, but only Native Americans are permitted to be speakers.

If neither of these holidays are something you are observing today or you simply don’t like turkey and dressing, today is also National French Toast Day. The holiday ties into the concept of “lost bread,” but for marketing purposes the ability to dip regular or stale bread into milk and/or eggs and fry it was believed to be easier to sell for a higher profit if America’s love of French cuisine was incorporated.

So, go forth today and enjoy. But first, let us know what you’ll be celebrating!

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