Thanksgiving Is Un-American ~That is, its more than American - its international.~ When we Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving -- that most American of holidays -- we would do well to remember that its far more international than we might have thought. There is, of course, a global tradition of harvest festivals -- indeed there are too many to list. But it seems that our Thanksgiving isnt just American, its also Canadian and Liberian, Grenadan and Norfolkian. In Canada, Thanksgiving (or Action de grâce, if youre French-Canadian) is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October. Some say that the holiday was transported north by Loyalists fleeing the US in the aftermath of the American Revolution. On the tiny Pacific island of Norfolk, an Australian dependency halfway between New Zealand and New Caledonia (France), and populated in part by the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Thanksgiving has been celebrated ever since American whalers brought the custom ashore in the 19th century. Norfolks Thanksgiving falls on the last Wednesday in November. Grenadas association with Thanksgiving is of much more recent origin. Whod have thought that a U.S. invasion, instigated by Ronald Reagan, would ever be celebrated as a national holiday? And yet, the 1983 removal of a Cuban-supported socialist regime by Operation Urgent Fury is celebrated every year with a Thanksgiving Day on 25 October, the start date of the invasion. Liberia, founded in 1820 by Americans as an African destination for freed black slaves, also imported a number of American customs, Thanksgiving among them. Liberian Thanksgiving, however, is celebrated on the first Thursday of November, and involves not turkey but roasted chicken, accompanied by mashed cassavas and green bean casserole. [1] The music of Liberia involves several different genres. Liberia is a West African country. Its musical heritage includes several important genres of pop derived from neighbors like Ghana and Nigeria. Liberia also boasts an array of indigenous folk music, Christian music and influences from its Americo-Liberian minority. [2] Here is a song of thanksgiving, sung in the Mano language of Liberia. 1. foreignpolicy/articles/2012/11/21/thanksgiving_is_un_american?page=0,0 2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Liberia
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 18:46:26 +0000
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