Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Vacation (Revisiting New England)

On this, the primary in-depth examine of probably the most American of holidays, James Baker sweeps away lingering myths and misconceptions to point out how this celebration day was born and grew to be a vital a part of our nationwide spirit. Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Vacation opens with an summary of the favored mythos of the vacation earlier than discussing its attainable spiritual and cultural precedents. This basic Yankee vacation is examined in historic and modern element that embraces all the things from proclamations, sermons, and native and regional traditions to household reunions, turkey dinners, and recipes. Thanksgiving’s evolving face is illustrated with charming and sometimes revealing interval prints that chart our altering attitudes: the affect of Victorian sentiment in Thanksgiving’s growth, Progressive utilitarianism, mental “debunking,” patriotic wartime reclamation, and Sixties-era protest. Thanksgiving stays controversial as much as the current day, as Mayflower descendants, Native People, and industrial exploiters compete for the American public’s opinion of the vacation’s modern significance and its future standing. That is an clever and illuminating introduction to a beloved vacation and a captivating cultural historical past of America and Americana.