Still life of autumn fruits and and crumble pieThe New Age Thanksgiving
Nowadays everything has gone through what we call the new age phenomenon. Whether it is spirituality, politics or religion, changes have occurred in many aspects of everyday lives of people all around the world. This change has affected the way people celebrate festivals as well. Many believe that this change in thinking has come about because of technology which has changed the way people communicate. It has brought the world together and made it really small. Something that took years to discover and understand about another country or civilization can now be done in far less time. Festivals are still celebrated but the manner in which this is being done has changed. Thanksgiving dinner celebration has also changed.
How was Thanksgiving dinner celebrated previously?
As one of the major traditional days to be celebrated leading to Christmas, Thanksgiving has its own special place in everyone’s heart. It was started to celebrate the harvest of crops this time of the year. Normally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month of November in USA and on the second Monday of October in Canada, it has its roots set in religion and tradition of the people in 16th century. A successful harvest meant food for all through the harsh winter season. To give thanks to God for this special blessing, people ate together and shared what food they had. A stuffed roasted turkey along with gravy, potatoes, cranberry sauce, fruit salad and other dishes made the traditional menu. This tradition has continued however with time the sharing decreased and nowadays only families share food and celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
How has New Age thought changed the celebration of Thanksgiving dinner?
As New Age thought seeped into all areas of life, it has touched Thanksgiving as well. As people try and define religion, God and spirituality, they are also trying to define their own individualistic way to celebrate days like Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is celebrated by sharing food with one and all but Thanksgiving dinner however has changed. New age believers believe in non violence and therefore prefer a vegan Thanksgiving dinner to the traditional one. New recipes and dishes are being invented every year to help vegetarians enjoy the day just as much. Much focus is on the act of giving thanks on this day. Restaurants and malls are arranging special vegan Thanksgiving dinner menus along with the traditional one. As vegan food is more health conscious, more and more people are opting for it.
What is the real celebration of Thanksgiving?
It is a time to reflect on what has been given and how have we shared it. It is the time spent offering thanks to the Supreme Being for giving everybody the patience, love, mercy, happiness, strength, honesty, faith and health required to live life to its fullest. It is a time to renew relationships with family members and friends lost in time. It is the time to acknowledge that no matter how great or rich one becomes, there is no happiness bigger than celebrating these amazing gifts with everybody else. Thanksgiving is the time to look within and come together with friends, family and strangers to celebrate the happiness in life. So you have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner or are you more New Age?
Here’s wishing one and all a wonderful and very happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day.
XOXO Julie
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