On the importance of Thanksgiving
Well the holiday season is upon us once again and this Thursday we kick it off with Thanksgiving. What I love about Thanksgiving is that it is truly an American holiday in that the truth of it has been buried deep and it has been transformed into something else.
Think about it, we do it with almost all of our holidays.
Halloween was a holiday invented by a group of Celts who believed in demons and ghosts and would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off the evil spirits.
In America it means kids and candy.
Easter is supposed to be the celebration of the rebirth of Jesus Christ after suffering on the cross and being placed in a cave.
In America it means bunny rabbits, eggs and candy.
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but it came from a Roman tradition of a week of lawlessness. The Roman courts were closed and people could not be prosecuted for any offense committed during this period. Think, The Purge. There were rapes, human sacrifices, drunk people going from house to house singing and the eating of human shaped cookies--some things are the same.
In America Christmas means Santa, gifts and candy...canes.
Then there is Thanksgiving, which celebrates a group of mass murderers who were celebrating the fact that they hadn't died yet. Over half of the people (many of them small children) died during that first brutal winter.
In America it means food, giving thanks and candy...ed yams.
You may think that I'm slagging off our country for these whitewashes, but it's actually the opposite. While I'm not proud of some of our nation's past and do think that there is a time and a place to keep those things in mind, I actually love our ability to make these holidays what they are.
If America is the melting pot for people of various nationalities and beliefs, it is also the melting pot of our own ideals and history. We have taken these days, some of them horrible in origin, and made them our own. We have put a uniquely American face on them and I think that's wonderful.
I have a lot to be thankful for during this holiday season, but as this is a blog about writing, I will keep it to that subject.
So I'd just like to take a minute and thank my readers. Writing is lonely work and connecting with readers makes a big difference. I have been lucky enough to connect with many of you throughout the year and I always try to respond to everyone I can. If I haven't gotten to your email or twitter post yet, I assure you that I will.
As a bit of a gift for my readers I will leave you with this tid bit of information: I am currently working on a book series that combines fantasy, horror, dystopian and sci-fi elements. I actually conceived of this idea when I was about sixteen years old (longer ago than I'd like to think about) but I have begun work on it. The series should be comprised of six or seven books and I anticipate it will be available in about a year's time. I'm taking a page from Netflix in that this book series will be available for bingeing. I will not publish it until all the books are finished, and they will all be released at once. Again, I'm thinking about a year from now. I'm very excited about this series and I think that you will all love it.
So, again, thank you for all your kind words and correspondence. I look forward to connecting with you in the future.
And have a great holiday.
Think about it, we do it with almost all of our holidays.
Halloween was a holiday invented by a group of Celts who believed in demons and ghosts and would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off the evil spirits.
In America it means kids and candy.
Easter is supposed to be the celebration of the rebirth of Jesus Christ after suffering on the cross and being placed in a cave.
In America it means bunny rabbits, eggs and candy.
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but it came from a Roman tradition of a week of lawlessness. The Roman courts were closed and people could not be prosecuted for any offense committed during this period. Think, The Purge. There were rapes, human sacrifices, drunk people going from house to house singing and the eating of human shaped cookies--some things are the same.
In America Christmas means Santa, gifts and candy...canes.
Then there is Thanksgiving, which celebrates a group of mass murderers who were celebrating the fact that they hadn't died yet. Over half of the people (many of them small children) died during that first brutal winter.
In America it means food, giving thanks and candy...ed yams.
You may think that I'm slagging off our country for these whitewashes, but it's actually the opposite. While I'm not proud of some of our nation's past and do think that there is a time and a place to keep those things in mind, I actually love our ability to make these holidays what they are.
If America is the melting pot for people of various nationalities and beliefs, it is also the melting pot of our own ideals and history. We have taken these days, some of them horrible in origin, and made them our own. We have put a uniquely American face on them and I think that's wonderful.
I have a lot to be thankful for during this holiday season, but as this is a blog about writing, I will keep it to that subject.
So I'd just like to take a minute and thank my readers. Writing is lonely work and connecting with readers makes a big difference. I have been lucky enough to connect with many of you throughout the year and I always try to respond to everyone I can. If I haven't gotten to your email or twitter post yet, I assure you that I will.
As a bit of a gift for my readers I will leave you with this tid bit of information: I am currently working on a book series that combines fantasy, horror, dystopian and sci-fi elements. I actually conceived of this idea when I was about sixteen years old (longer ago than I'd like to think about) but I have begun work on it. The series should be comprised of six or seven books and I anticipate it will be available in about a year's time. I'm taking a page from Netflix in that this book series will be available for bingeing. I will not publish it until all the books are finished, and they will all be released at once. Again, I'm thinking about a year from now. I'm very excited about this series and I think that you will all love it.
So, again, thank you for all your kind words and correspondence. I look forward to connecting with you in the future.
And have a great holiday.
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