Thanksgiving, Haudenosaunee-style
by Kelly Mascarenhas
Most long-established cultures have made appreciating nature a key part of their lifestyle. Buddhist monks practice metta, an attitude of nonviolence and love towards all creatures. Hindus practice vegetarianism, and many Sanskrit texts worship the presence of God in nature. These two religions have produced cultures that revere nature and try to protect it. On the other hand, American culture, which is relatively young compared to the previous two, takes most of its roots from Christianity and is not centered around nature. Due to the lifestyle of its citizens, the United States holds the title for the most carbon emissions produced per year. That lifestyle will soon have to change to become more sustainable and requires a shifting of our values.
Many characteristically American values are the freedoms of speech, press, petitioning, religion, social equality, voting, and private property. However, if you took a look at long-established cultures in America, those of the Native Americans, their values would be different. If you asked a member of the Six Nations what their people primarily value, he or she might say “community and nature”. The lifestyle that the people of the Six Nations, or Haudenosaunee, practiced over thousands of years has allowed their values to center around these two things. Because of community and nature being valued the highest, the Six Nations lived in complete sustainability with nature until Europeans first contacted them in the mid-1500s. Americans could adopt a few values and practices from the Haudenosaunee to begin to live more sustainably.
The Haudenosaunee people celebrate thirteen ceremonies where they give thanks to seasonal foods, weather, and their Creator. In contrast, Americans only have one day of Thanksgiving. Notable thanksgiving ceremonies practiced by the Haudenosaunee include the Midwinter Ceremony, Maple Ceremony, Strawberry Ceremony, String Bean Ceremony, Green Corn Ceremony, Harvest Ceremony, and End of Seasons Ceremony. The Midwinter Ceremony is the longest ceremony, lasting eight days in January during the new moon. This ceremony conveys the people’s desire that the new year will bring about “fresh renewal and fertility to the Earth” and celebrates the bounty of the previous year. Performance rituals are done to cleanse people of troubled thoughts. At the end of the ceremony, a speaker delivers a thanksgiving address—similar to a prayer a family member might say before starting an American Thanksgiving feast. However, the thanksgiving address is longer, and addresses the community and nature before thanking the Creator. The subjects of thanks are as follows: the people, the earth, the waters, the fish, the plants, the food plants, the medicine herbs, the animals, the trees, the birds, the four winds, the thunder, the sun, the moon, the stars, the teachers, and the Creator. Where most Christians on Thanksgiving just thank God for what they have received, the Haudenosaunee address what they have received before giving thanks to their Creator. When one gives thanks in this way, one can begin to value just how important the natural world is.
To change the American lifestyle to center around nature, Americans could start having thanksgivings more often. To follow the Haudenosaunee example, we could start by having thanksgiving every season. If it was celebrated every season, then the attention would shift from giving thanks in general to giving thanks to each season’s bounty. Families may begin appreciating nature in a way that drives them to buy more local produce, and feel more grateful for nature. If there were not only a feast, but also dancing and symbolic gestures during the thanksgiving, then one would feel more enthusiastic towards giving thanks. Daily pre-meal prayers can grow stale in meaning, after all. So this thanksgiving, I challenge you to say the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address before the feast begins. It is never more important than right now to establish a connection to nature with children--they are the leaders of America’s future cultural change.
[Photo, Haudenosaunee leaders, by Syracuse Peace Council licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]
by Kelly Mascarenhas
Most long-established cultures have made appreciating nature a key part of their lifestyle. Buddhist monks practice metta, an attitude of nonviolence and love towards all creatures. Hindus practice vegetarianism, and many Sanskrit texts worship the presence of God in nature. These two religions have produced cultures that revere nature and try to protect it. On the other hand, American culture, which is relatively young compared to the previous two, takes most of its roots from Christianity and is not centered around nature. Due to the lifestyle of its citizens, the United States holds the title for the most carbon emissions produced per year. That lifestyle will soon have to change to become more sustainable and requires a shifting of our values.
Many characteristically American values are the freedoms of speech, press, petitioning, religion, social equality, voting, and private property. However, if you took a look at long-established cultures in America, those of the Native Americans, their values would be different. If you asked a member of the Six Nations what their people primarily value, he or she might say “community and nature”. The lifestyle that the people of the Six Nations, or Haudenosaunee, practiced over thousands of years has allowed their values to center around these two things. Because of community and nature being valued the highest, the Six Nations lived in complete sustainability with nature until Europeans first contacted them in the mid-1500s. Americans could adopt a few values and practices from the Haudenosaunee to begin to live more sustainably.
The Haudenosaunee people celebrate thirteen ceremonies where they give thanks to seasonal foods, weather, and their Creator. In contrast, Americans only have one day of Thanksgiving. Notable thanksgiving ceremonies practiced by the Haudenosaunee include the Midwinter Ceremony, Maple Ceremony, Strawberry Ceremony, String Bean Ceremony, Green Corn Ceremony, Harvest Ceremony, and End of Seasons Ceremony. The Midwinter Ceremony is the longest ceremony, lasting eight days in January during the new moon. This ceremony conveys the people’s desire that the new year will bring about “fresh renewal and fertility to the Earth” and celebrates the bounty of the previous year. Performance rituals are done to cleanse people of troubled thoughts. At the end of the ceremony, a speaker delivers a thanksgiving address—similar to a prayer a family member might say before starting an American Thanksgiving feast. However, the thanksgiving address is longer, and addresses the community and nature before thanking the Creator. The subjects of thanks are as follows: the people, the earth, the waters, the fish, the plants, the food plants, the medicine herbs, the animals, the trees, the birds, the four winds, the thunder, the sun, the moon, the stars, the teachers, and the Creator. Where most Christians on Thanksgiving just thank God for what they have received, the Haudenosaunee address what they have received before giving thanks to their Creator. When one gives thanks in this way, one can begin to value just how important the natural world is.
To change the American lifestyle to center around nature, Americans could start having thanksgivings more often. To follow the Haudenosaunee example, we could start by having thanksgiving every season. If it was celebrated every season, then the attention would shift from giving thanks in general to giving thanks to each season’s bounty. Families may begin appreciating nature in a way that drives them to buy more local produce, and feel more grateful for nature. If there were not only a feast, but also dancing and symbolic gestures during the thanksgiving, then one would feel more enthusiastic towards giving thanks. Daily pre-meal prayers can grow stale in meaning, after all. So this thanksgiving, I challenge you to say the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address before the feast begins. It is never more important than right now to establish a connection to nature with children--they are the leaders of America’s future cultural change.
[Photo, Haudenosaunee leaders, by Syracuse Peace Council licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]