Origins of thanksgiving week in US and key lessons for Kenyans

 

An American and Kenyan flag on a Thanksgiving card. [Patrick Vidija, Standard]

This is America’s Thanksgiving week. This much-revered tradition is said to date back to the 17th century when a small group of English settlers celebrated a thanksgiving upon landing in Virginia.

It is said the group’s company charter had specifically required “that the day of our ships’ arrival at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God”.

These origins are controversial, and many believe the observance of this holiday as a federal holiday, was, like many national days in the USA, a reaction to the influx of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The change in demographics led to xenophobic responses in the form of restrictive immigration measures, that we see replicated today. It also incentivised a greater push towards the Americanisation of the new immigrants and the formulation of a shared history and cultural heritage.

Concerned about the lack of a central theme around which the new immigrants would rally, holidays, including Flag Day, Memorial Day, and the 4th of July were intended to introduce immigrants to the central themes of American history.

The intent was the conversion of the immigrants into loyal citizens. Thanksgiving week was a central plank of this agenda, with its non-denominational character, colonial harvest themes and images of Pilgrims and Indians breaking bread together peacefully.

It allowed the country to romanticise its origins—people leaving far-off lands, struggling under harsh conditions and ultimately being welcomed to America’s bounty.

Whatever its origins, it is a worthy tradition and over time the Thanksgiving holiday has been internationalised.

Many families now set aside the last week of November as a season to be thankful but not with the vigour and reverence with which the holiday is held in America.

I believe Kenya is in desperate need of a national time to be thankful. I worry that we have become such a negative people, with the bulk of vitriol reserved for government, that we have no moments to be grateful for the many blessings that abound.

Even at the governmental level, we have much to be grateful for. For all our concerns about the reduced civic space, we still have institutions, including the Judiciary, that place checks on the excesses of government. We still have a fairly free media and a dynamic civil society.

While it is true that our economy is strangling many, a visit to commercial sectors in upmarket malls in Runda and Westlands, or the middle-class strip malls in Kilimani and Buruburu or in Kayole and Ruai, the capitals of Eastlands, there is vibrant economic activity that tells a story of resilience and even hope.

In my other life as a lawyer, I represent microfinance companies that lend to the microeconomy. I have been amazed at the vibrancy of the sector where despite lending rates being as high as 40 per cent annually, borrowing and repayments are still surprisingly robust.

Of course, much citizen anger comes from the pain of higher taxes, but the truth is the margins of past governments, that allowed them to kick the can down the road by borrowing, is not available to this regime. Kenyans have to shoulder the burden of sustaining government and for any development through enhanced taxation.

I give the above positive examples, not to say we should be grateful for the government, though I must say the vitriol against this and every government in its first years is always a shocker.

This includes much-loved Kibaki. He was reviled in his first two years and was associated with major scandals including Anglo leasing, John Githongo’s exile and the Margaryan brothers. I only ask that we halt our anger for a moment and focus on the positive side of our existence, whether at governmental, social or private realms.

While it is more natural to see the dark side of life, there is much to be grateful for.

And if we cannot celebrate the positives throughout the year, what about consciously setting a nationally recognised and defined time to celebrate the good, that we all know surrounds us? In this spirit, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving week!

The writer is an advocate