No, we’re not talking vacations – if we were, we’d be talking about 5 star beach hotels in the Maldives.
Instead, we’re talking about Thanksgiving, Sukkot, Martin Luther King, Jr day…literally, we’ll talk about all three of them. They’re national and religious holidays that changed history.
Read on to find out more.
Thanksgiving
You might have heard of multiple definitions for Thanksgiving.
Traditionally, Thanksgiving commemorates the peaceful welcoming of English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe for a feast that lasted three days in 1621.
Today, Thanksgiving is a big celebration full of food and bringing people together – much the same as in 1621. The meaning is also rooted in the autumn harvest celebration, which the first European immigrants practiced.
The history of Thanksgiving, held on the 4th Thursday of November in the US, runs deep. It was made a national holiday in 1861 by Abraham Lincoln. The nature of Thanksgiving transitioned to that of having family and peace within the community with values of appreciation, abundance, and togetherness.
In our opinion, it’s the food that everyone is most interested in.
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated in the middle of October from the 16th to the 23rd. It’s known as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths.
The main purpose of Sukkot is to mark the forty years spent by the Israelites wandering the desert after being emancipated from slavery in Egypt. During these years, they used to stay in temporary huts known as sukkahs, which represent their hopes of being protected.
Sukkot is one of the three major Jewish pilgrim festivals, centered on the harvest and thanksgiving with traditional Judaism ornaments like the etrog box. People of Israel used to ascend to the Temple in Jerusalem, located in ancient Israel, during Sukkot to give thanks for the harvest. Modern Sukkot is deeply spiritual and cultural.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The third Monday of January, observed as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, remembers the great civil rights leader; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Developing countries and the United States have greatly benefited from King’s advocacy and nonviolent combat in the American Civil Rights Movement. The holiday was started in 1986 by President Ronald Reygon.
The power of King’s image of justice and equality goes beyond the demise of frank social hierarchy, which is the purpose of American civil rights activists today, thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As an energizing civilian movement, the holiday has transformed into a day of service.
Each Martin Luther King, Jr. Day reminds us that there is still more work to be done holistically toward establishing peace and upholding justice for everyone.
Do you have a favorite holiday? There are so many great days throughout the year, but we think, sometimes, it’s easy to forget the meaning behind them. They’re images of the past and the present. Next time you’re sitting down to enjoy a national holiday day (and no, we don’t mean enjoying the day off) think about the meaning behind it and why it’s a national holiday.
