Thanksgiving or National Day of Mourning
One of the curious customs that have sprung from the celebration of Thanksgiving is that of the National Day of Mourning. This is an event observed by some Native Americans, particularly the descendants of the Wampanoag.
It all started in 1970 when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts invited the Wampanoag leader Frank James to give a speech marking the celebration of Thanksgiving. Mr. James, who did not believe that his people had cause for celebration, prepared a speech in which he denounced the centuries of maltreatment of Native Americans at the hands of the descendants of the Pilgrims. When the governor of Massachusetts got wind of the contents of his proposed speech he canceled the invitation to Mr. James.
This discourtesy offended Mr. James and he and some of his followers decided to do their own version of Thanksgiving by celebrating a Day of Mourning instead. They decided to gather on the top of Coles Hill near Plymouth Rock each Thanksgiving Day to observe this new event.
This commemoration has certain similarities with those of some Latin American nations who now prefer not to celebrate the Discovery of America by Columbus in 1492. Instead, they have decided to refer to it as a day of sorrow. This is in keeping with two fields of thought prevalent among Latin American historians who refer to a Golden Legend and a Black Legend. The advocates of the Golden Legend say that the Discovery was a positive event because it brought progress and Christianity to a backward continent. The proponents of the Black Legend say that the Spaniards brought death and destruction to a peaceful continent, decimating entire populations with the diseases they brought with them.
Thanksgiving celebrates the union of two peoples, each giving thanks by enjoying the products of their labors and the abundance of nature.
The Day of Mourning is a remembrance of the many injustices that followed the celebration of the first Thanksgiving.
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