I've always appreciated Thanksgiving. It didn't cost a lot of money if you kept things simple, and we never had much to spend.

I loved the history of how the pilgrims and Native Americans came together to celebrate life and help each other.  Maybe that's because I have some Native American heritage, as do most generational Americans.  Mostly, though, I enjoy learning about how different cultures have found common ground in the past.

Unfortunately, lately — thanks to progressive movements and the globalist agenda — Thanksgiving is being erased.  There is a cultural movement to demonize the settlers, colonization, and anything aligned with "white culture" or European history.

This is a misguided approach because our history is as complex as the people who currently make up the United States.  We were the first country in the world to create a national holiday to give thanks.  We have a day dedicated to recognizing how blessed we are to have food, clothing, and a roof over our heads (because those are the only three things people truly need to survive).

This means that Thanksgiving is a holiday that cannot easily be commercialized.  Politicians can't build bank accounts from it.  Corporations cannot make it a candy holiday or a gift-giving occasion.  And this is also why it is being overlooked and ignored.

Halloween and Christmas are wonderful holidays.  They have rich histories and cultural meanings that deserve their place.  But they've been commercialized and corporatized to the nth degree.

A lot of college students, as they drink their twenty-dollar coffee, will scoff and complain that Thanksgiving's demise is a result of capitalism, which breeds greed and corruption.  But capitalism flourished throughout decades past without erasing important national holidays while bastardizing others.  It also allowed people to share in their good fortune and give to those in need.

The real reason that Thanksgiving is being left behind is that it is a purely American holiday.  It is replete with hope; humanity; and all the things our enemies, teachers, and activists don't want the American people to recognize in their history.

Those who prefer global trading and global causes over localized community efforts have learned that everybody around the world can easily celebrate Halloween.  It's not difficult to join in the fun of dressing up or celebrating the spookier side of the connection between life and death.

Image: The First Thanksgiving by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.  Public domain.

Christmas is similar in this regard.  It has become more cultural than religious — at least that's what I've been told by the atheists who love shopping for presents on Thanksgiving.  They don't mind making others work on a national holiday because they're just ready to get on with the bigger, more extravagant spend-fest.

For the unreligious, Christmas isn't about Jesus' birth, but is, instead, focused on presents!  Presents!  Presents!  This attitude grows more repulsive each year.  It feeds the beast.  Instead of taking the time to know our neighbors and be grateful for our heritage, we are being devoured by global ambitions.

This year, in-store Halloween items were traded out for Christmas goodies a week before October 31.  Festive cornucopias, footballs, and autumn wreaths have diminished if they're even present at all.  Did anyone else even notice?  Is anyone else questioning why the mainstream so adamantly pushes Christmas the moment we're reading to plan a big family meal for Thanksgiving?

Our culture and our traditions have been slowly eroded in favor of propagandist versions of important days that still hold strong spiritual meanings.  Each year, more children are taught that the "evil white man came and destroyed America."  And each year, it seems less important for people to give thanks.

These are all connected.  When we allow others to erase our ability to be thankful and take pride in what we have built, we lose hope.

It is easy to look at the state of the country and despair, and to see our culture fragmented as different states have clashing ideologies.  Thankfully, it is also easier to remember what we're fighting for when we slow down, take each season in its turn, and truly appreciate all the opportunities that remain.

Last year, Americans were advised not to celebrate.  We were told to hide, fear, and be alone, all things that destroy our character and strength.

That tactic is not working this year because so many people are desperate to remember why life holds meaning.  Family, friendship, hope, and love are waiting to be seated at the table.  All we need is to get back to breaking out the extra chairs.

To prevent forgetting why our country became great, we must refuse to get swept up in the rush to open presents.  This month, it's still time to cook with our children, tell stories about the good ol' days, and play a family game of football.  We must get back to honoring the spirit of Thanksgiving, which allowed the Pilgrims and the Native Americans to forge a bond that gave us (and our history) a beautiful ideal: that everyone has something to be thankful for.

Jessica is a homeschooling mother of four and writer for Evie Magazine, and her work has been featured by The Epoch Times, The New American, American Thinker, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and many more.

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