Thanksgiving, in Audere Magazine

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and here are a few articles to read on the subject from the pages of Audere Magazine. 

What is Thanksgiving About?

In 2019, novelist Steven S. Drachman asked “What is this Thanksgiving, anway?” writing, “Thanksgiving — which is my favorite holiday, for reasons I can’t really explain — is usually thought of as a non-religious holiday, but the name itself gives this away – if one is an atheist, whom are you thanking?” and noting that President Lincoln viewed Thanksgiving as a day of “penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.”

Is Thanksgiving Religious or Secular

In 2019, Alon Preiss asked “Can you have religion without God?”  and pointed to Thanksgiving as a model for the future – a holiday that was once religious and which has become almost thoughtlessly secular. He approved. 

Thanksgiving at Todd’s Asylum

“People said that if it had not been for that annuity Eph Todd would have been at the poor farm himself instead of setting up a rival to it,” Winthrop Packard wrote in 1915, beginning his story for children. “But there was the annuity, and that was the beginning of Todd’s asylum.” Read the entire story, about a memorable Thanksgiving at a memorable poorhouse.

Remembering an Enslaved Chef

Finally, in telling the story of Caesar, an enslaved chef and chocolatier in Colonial Virginia, Kelley Fanto Deetzwrote, “The holidays are here, and among the many treats of the season are chocolate and hot cocoa. While these traditions provide a hefty dose of sugar, there’s a bittersweet side to chocolate’s history, too.” Her article originally appeared in The Conversation. 

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Image by Hannah Busing, Unsplash