does muslim celebrate thanksgiving -Ehiddayat
Does muslim celebrate thanksgiving
Muslims and Thanksgiving: A Common Observation
I live in an area that has a huge Muslim population. I’ve never been in one of their homes, but I do know their religion requires proclamations from an Imam (I don’t know what qualifies someone to be an Imam). I’ve read in local publications that Islam is a thankful religion, therefore, it is fine to acknowledge Thanksgiving. They sure have a lot of cars parked up and down in front of their houses on Thanksgiving, so I’m guessing they celebrate it—probably by eating too much, like we all do.
Is Thanksgiving a Religious Holiday?
Thanksgiving isn’t a religious holiday. You do know that, don’t you? My guess is they cook a favorite dish and have the same celebration the rest of us do—if they’ve been here long enough to get into our customs.
I used to be married to a girl whose mom was Sicilian. Mom prepared lasagna, anchovies, pepperoni, and cheeses on the side for Thanksgiving. Never bothered me. I didn’t miss turkey at all. That woman introduced me to foods I did not encounter growing up in Tulsa. Changed my life.
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Different Muslim Perspectives on Thanksgiving
Some Muslims do celebrate and some do not. Those who fear that it is a religious holiday will often not celebrate because of the fear of committing shirk. Those who do generally do not see it as a religious holiday and so they feel perfectly fine participating. There are scholars from different schools that say it’s wrong and others who say it’s okay.
I’m not going to say that any are right or wrong, only that personally, my family celebrates it. Thanksgiving is a federal holiday that’s essentially secular. It did not arise out of religious practices, nor does it involve religion. It celebrates a historical event in the U.S. and is thus, in my opinion, okay to celebrate without fear of committing shirk.
My family is Christian, and I reverted, so there’s the possibility that I’m just biased, having grown up with it, but I don’t see it as an issue. My Muslim husband doesn’t have an issue with it, and what we do is mostly spend time with family and feel thankful for that blessing. We thank Allah for the blessings we have, but we don’t view it as a religious celebration. Some of my husband’s friends refuse to celebrate because they think it is religious. Well, more pumpkin pie for me then.
Thanksgiving and Its Connection to Harvest Celebrations
You may be more familiar with an older holiday called in English, Harvest Home. There are similar holidays in non-English-speaking countries with similar names. Not all of these holidays fall on the same date, not even in the same country, but they all celebrate the same thing.
The crops have been gathered from the fields, the grapes are being pressed for wine, the olives for oil or dried for eating. The vegetables are being stored for the winter, and the meat salted or dried, or made into sausages. No one will starve during the cold weather ahead. No babies will die when their mothers are hungry. Hunger has been banished again. Let the winds blow and the rain come down. The crops have been harvested and are safely stored.
“See the harvesters come home, singing with joy, carrying their sheaves. Abundance! Abundanza! Eat savory meats and drink new sweet wines. Thank God for another year. Come, ye thankful people, come. Raise the song of harvest home.”
Modern Thanksgiving: A Shift from Agricultural to Family Traditions
In much of the modern world, people are not so close to the land. Food is available all year round at the nearest market, so these holidays began to focus less on the crops and more on all the things we have for which to be thankful—our homes, families, jobs, country, history, and those who have gone before us to give us our world—the explorers, pioneers, and settlers; the patriots, soldiers, and statesmen; the writers, artists, and scientists.
This is a grand holiday, celebrated more in the United States than many other places, on a particular day. But every time we gather around the table and eat, even if we sit alone, we feel grateful for our lives.
We remember those who wait for us at a larger table on an endless day, and we give thanks to the Lord our God who gave us this world in which to live. Now thank we all our God.
Why Thanksgiving is an Important American Holiday
Because it is an awesome holiday. It’s about family and feasting. It’s the closest thing we have to household gods, in which we celebrate family traditions that are weird variants of our neighbors… I’m looking at you, jello salad.
The central food items are extremely comforting (roast bird, potatoes, gravy, pie), and there are special extras like cranberry sauce and stuffing that make you wonder why we don’t have them more often.
Religion is largely optional, so it is completely open to all Americans. What doctrine doesn’t think it’s nice to be thankful for what you’ve got? Maybe Nazis, but they’re not American.
Family, on the other hand, is very American, and the focus is mostly on that. If you want to understand this part, watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. It’s a great movie about the need to get home for Thanksgiving, and the twist at the end says so much about what can be great in this holiday.
Long story short, family is what you make of it, and that’s a strong American belief.
Thanksgiving’s Place in American Culture
Americans don’t get too many holidays either, so it’s good to make the most of them. For many Americans, you get a four-day weekend, and the weather is often still nice, or winter is exciting and new, or the fall colors are making a lovely backdrop.
I have a friend who prefers Canadian Thanksgiving. It’s kind of American Thanksgiving light. There isn’t only a three-day weekend, and you can have turkey whenever, so it reduces the stress of which family to visit. I can see his point, but I like the extra day in American Thanksgiving, the deeper fall weather and shorter days add to the romance, and the setup gives you three days to recover.
A lot of people bitch and moan about Black Friday… tap tap tap… it’s completely optional! I guess if you work in retail, you gotta work, but otherwise, you can stay home and have a very low-obligation day. And then you still have Saturday and Sunday to do your laundry. And if you want to join in the shopping extravaganza, have at it. No judging!
Conclusion: Thanksgiving is for Everyone
Most celebrate it the same way everyone else does. Thanksgiving is the one American holiday which is celebrated by most everyone and mostly in the same way. The holiday is celebrated with a meal, and everyone eats.
Nobody cares if you make your green beans Italian style or use tortillas instead of dinner rolls. No one says anything if you have a ham, a chicken, or even a goose. There are no holiday police in this country; no one is checking.
Thanksgiving reminds everyone that we are all immigrants or descendants of immigrants. It is a very good holiday for all of us, no matter when we got here
