Will the pigskin be the featured course tomorrow?

by David Grand
November 23, 2005

Hopefully, Tommy Turkey will get the nod over the wall-to-wall football games, and overshadow Santa's appearance throughout malls and stores, ushering in the "official" start of the Christmas season. Though it's a close call, given that the modern day Thanksgiving has become as commercialized as Christmas; and is a far different occasion than the first Thanksgiving Day, which is widely assumed occurred in 1621 at the Plymouth Colony by the Pilgrims and their Indian guests.

While it may come as a surprise to many, that large celebration was, in all likelihood, a secular celebration of the bountiful harvest--not a "day of thanksgiving." For in their faith, the colonists regarded a day of thanksgiving as marking the end of a period of fasting and prayers. Moreover, turkey was, according to a recorded firsthand account, but one item on the menu on which they gorged themselves for three days, that included venison, roast duck, goose, clams and other shellfish, with wild plums and dried berries as desert--all washed down with wine made of the wild grapes. And there's no record that it was ever repeated. (Maybe because of the indigestion and hangovers they'd suffered.)

Be that as it may, the fourth Thursday in November has been enshrined in American lore as a day for giving thanks for our blessings, much to the joy of turkey growers, merchants and those getting a day off. But among the millions of turkeys destined to end up on a platter, the only one of 'em that's blessed is the gobbler presented to the president, who traditionally grants him a reprieve from the ax.

To their credit, philanthropists show their gratitude for their bountiful wealth in a tangible way the year around, not just on special occasions. In 2001 alone, the largest 100 US grant-making foundations gave $28.7 billions to charities, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (which has assets of some $30 billion) topping the list.

There's no one I can think of, who epitomizes more the spirit of giving than the Gates, who've poured more than $6 billion into global health; and whose generosity has, for instance, helped save the lives of more than 670,000 children in the developing world through its support of an aggressive vaccination program, and in fighting such infectious diseases as Hepatitis B, AIDS and malaria. Plus, they've vowed to give away all of their earthly wealth to worthwhile causes while they're alive.

Such a commitment would surely make Andrew Carnigie, the billionaire industrialist, and philanthropist smile in his grave. For true to his strongly held belief, that "to die rich is to die thus disgraced," he provided funds for 2,500 libraries in the US, Britain, Ireland and Canada; and gave more than $350 million to educational, cultural and peace institutions. (Not bad, considering he never spent a day in school, and whose first job at the age of 13 was as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill outside Pittsburgh, earning $1.20 per week.)

And when it comes to giving from the heart, Americans once again showed their compassion for those in need following the hurricanes on the Gulf coast, by contributing so generously to the relief efforts. Surely, they stand as high in God's eyes as any philanthropist.