HW 18 - Health & Illness & Feasting

Thanksgiving: The first thing that comes to mind on Thanksgiving is food.

But when giving thanks, I thank that I have my family.

For this Thanksgiving, I ate at my house and not traveled uptown to my aunt’s house, where my cousins are at. We decided to eat at the house and create our own thanksgiving day.   My sister-in-law, my brother, my nephew and my mother this will be all our first time with just a couple people and not some big party.   I’m use to my cousins asking me hundred questions, music playing and my aunts and uncles loud voices taking over the room. This year it wasn't so loud and I spent it where I didn't feel the need to dance but talk and a played board games. Since this holiday, I spent it at my house I was able to go to my friend’s house and there I ate more food but it tasted different, but in a good way.  This was a holiday were I just didn’t see relatives but another experience with another family. For all my life, until this year I always had to go to my aunt’s house for every holiday no matter what. She had the big house and everyone felt the need to go to my aunt’s house.  Our traditions food, and dancing, this is where the holidays have to be celebrated for a while. My mom and I felt the need to spend it with the people who live with us and for us this was important and our traditions foods were still involved.   

 We were taught that each holiday we should spend it with our family and eat heavy loads of food, and to feel happy. On this day or around Thanksgiving Day, people were dying and the white men were eating loads of food while the natives were slaving away.  This is what we are celebrating, I don't feel that I'm celebrating my thanksgiving in a bad way, but since this is the history of where I was  born , I am supporting what happened on Thanksgiving day.

When eating food, people feel happy. Then again we are just happy there’s food in our bodies instead of paying attention to where the food came from? Or why are the people eating these types of foods that giving. We take advantage of the things that’s giving; Holidays are part of the dominate discourses because people feel that everyone is required to do. This is why we create   black Fridays and sales for people to shop, isn’t this holiday we are supposed to give thanks and think about family? This goes with dying and illness because it’s a tradition that people are required to do, go visit them in the hospital, funerals but it’s important for people to feel connected.  We have to socialize and interact with one another to know people still care. The importance of people seeing each other counts, even when seeing new people we tend to feel happier, because seeing face and talking, laughing is what bring people close, this is where people create traditions and reunions.