The Catalog of Good Deeds

There is no "feast" that seems more "American" than Thanksgiving. Many of us Orthodox also recognize this holiday in some sort of way. Usually we say that it is a day in which "they" remember that the Pilgrims landed in this country. Of course, the "they" that we use in such a sentence refers to any of the non-Orthodox Americans that we live with.

And yet, this is real chance for us – it may be one of the few "American" things that we can truly make Orthodox. We will never be able to totally interpret the secular things of America in an Orthodox way – such as hot dogs and beer, or Rock and Roll Masses. But here on Thanksgiving Day is exactly where it should be done. This is so because if you think about and are especially aware of the words and feeling of our Divine Liturgy, there is nothing more Orthodox than giving thanks or "thanksgiving."

It is, therefore, on Thanksgiving Day that we have a chance to help America look deeper into itself – by looking at this "typical" American holiday of Thanksgiving from an Orthodox point of view. We know that to be Orthodox, if we really know about Orthodoxy, implies that "deeper look." But what is meant by looking deeper?

To begin with, if we as Americans, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, fail to see the greater lesson of what "Thanksgiving" means, if it is just the remembering of an historical event, it will remain only a memory and not something that we call a Holiday, or better yet, a Holy Day. This is so because just the memory is not enough. Memory may be helpful, but it does not guarantee holiness. Why do we say Holy Day? When we answer this question, we will have taken that "deeper look."

Surely those that landed in America understood why the day was "holy." They were not only celebrating their historic landing as holy, as we do today in this shallow way; they looked deeper and when they did, they gave thanks together in a real communion with each other and with God for all the bountiful gifts with which they were blessed. Perhaps they understood, even better than we do, what it means when we sing in our Liturgy: "for the abundance of the fruits of the earth and for peaceful times…." That's it! That's the deeper look; men standing together before God in thankfulness. Men bound by common problems. Men bound by common goals.

Orthodoxy, therefore, has the great opportunity to be able to dissect the word "Thanksgiving," to show this fullness. In fact, we are constantly showing what it really means at every Liturgy, for it is here that thanksgiving is not only a memory, not only a day; it is a "state" or a "position" that we are in. What is that "state" which is holy? It is a standing together – no, it begins earlier – it begins with the procession of each of us from the bed of our homes to the place where we will stand, to be together, even as those pilgrims were, to give thanks. The height of this thanksgiving is when we offer up the gifts of bread and wine – "Thine own of Thine own, we offer unto thee, in behalf of all and for all" – while we are offered life in return from God.

Can we take America back to that original meaning, to that deeper look? The pilgrims had it, but we have preserved it! Perhaps now we can say "we" instead of "they" to show that Thanksgiving is not only for non- Orthodox. Certainly, it is at the Divine Liturgy where "we" should begin this Day of Thanksgiving. Is there less that we can do?

What's so Orthodox about Thanksgiving? Orthodoxy.

By Fr. Joseph Allen

Source: http://holycrossoca.org/newslet/0911b.html

The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620, brave as they were, were Christian sectarians who wanted nothing to do with the Papal Church or the Church of England. They arrived in what they considered the "Promised Land" for the sake of their free religious expression where they could live the Gospel in what they considered to be its purest form. Stripped from all the traditions of Christian Europe, they abandoned even celebrations such as Christmas, since the date of Christ's birth was not in the Bible. Unbeknownst to them, however, a feast between them and Native American tribes, whom they relied on for survival, has come down as probably America's most popular tradition.

Of course, Thanksgiving as we know it today did not originate with the Pilgrims as many suppose, though their feast is the model for it. This is one of the myths circulated about Thanksgiving that even most Americans were taught in school. Another myth of Thanksgiving is that it is traditional for Americans in the United States to have a feast on days proclaimed by U.S. Presidents as days of Thanksgiving. In fact, days of Thanksgiving in early America called for a national day of prayer and fasting, due to a lack of ecclesiastical feasts by Protestants, and not family gathering, football watching and turkey feasting and all the other good stuff associated with the holiday. (Read more here, here and here.)

Orthodox Christians in the United States are in a unique position regarding the celebration of Thanksgiving, which is our patriotic duty. Thanksgiving is no longer a time of fasting in our culture, but of feasting with family and friends, something which began to take shape after the Civil War in the 19th century and the Lincoln proclamation. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln called on all Americans to observe on the last Thursday of November a day of Thanksgiving and Praise for all the good things God has bestowed on us as individuals and as a country, and since that time every American President has followed his example to make a similar proclamation.

For those who follow the New Calendar (Revised Julian Calendar), the giant feast associated with Thanksgiving coincides with a period of 40-day fasting prior to Christmas, though it sometimes falls within the Old Calendar fasting period as well (when the fast begins on a Thursday that falls on November 28th). Generally, however, a pastoral dispensation, which was initially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is given by local Metropolitans and parish priests to allow the Orthodox faithful to participate in this traditional American holiday as a harvest festival, a time for families to come together and celebrate, and to offer thanks to God for all He grants to us individually, as a family and as a country. The Nativity season is usually a fairly lenient fasting time as well, especially before December 18th, so such "economia" should not be looked upon as a major violation of any canonical rule (see here). Also, as Christians, the Apostle Paul advises us to not give offense either by our fasting or our feasting, and certainly it would be odd for Orthodox Christian citizens in America to not join the rest of the country in commonly celebrating a Thanksgiving feast to the glory of God, whether it be with the traditional meats or not, after all, even many atheists celebrate some sort of Thanks on this day as well. "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). Ideally it is recommended for Orthodox to participate in the Divine Liturgy on Thanksgiving morning prior to feasting, since the Divine Eucharist is the ultimate offering of thanksgiving to God. An Akathist of Thanksgiving is also available, which can be read privately.

By John Sanidopoulos

Source: johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/11/orthodox-christians-and-thanksgiving.html

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