American Thanksgiving vs St. Martin Thanksgiving

The last Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. The first Sunday in December is Thanksgiving Day in St. Martin (South). The celebration in the USA dates back centuries. The one in St. Martin became official in 1995 following Hurricane Luis.

The US Thanksgiving is centered on family while in St. Martin the focus is on community prayer. In the US, Thanksgiving is a time for family to come together to give thanks for the blessings of the year about to end, while in St. Martin it is a time for the community to gather in prayer to thank God for sparing our lives following the official end of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.

There’s a biblical injunction to give thanks to God at all times.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his loving kindness endures forever.

1 CHRONICLES 16:34

So, why are some people against the US Thanksgiving being celebrated on St. Martin? Some say it is not our culture, some say they can’t relate to it and some say it’s too commercialized.

With all due respect to all these various points of view, the question would be why do we celebrate (or accommodate) other festivities that are surely “not our culture,” too commercialized and not relatable to us? Why is Diwali ok but not US Thanksgiving? Why is St. Patrick’s Day alright but not American Thanksgiving?

The issue is not relatability at all. The issue seems to be the over-commercialization of the festivity. Businesses capitalize on Thanksgiving and the Friday after (right through “Cyber Monday”) to launch a whole weekend of frenetic shopping at discounted prices.

That we here on St. Martin have been sucked into this hyper-consumerism normally associated with the US could be attributed to the potent influence of American cable TV on the island. I am sure most TV viewers on St. Martin are usually glued to US cable networks - from CNN to Fox News, from BET to Lifetime and everything in between. That’s virtually 24/7 brainwashing. The impact on our way of life is simply overwhelming.

So, in the face of this advertising barrage, what chance does St. Martin Thanksgiving have for the people to really embrace and own it?

For starters, I think we need to make it more than a prayer meeting. After church on Sunday morning, calling out the faithful to gather for prayers again in the afternoon may be viewed as wearing our religion on our sleeves. The day should be filled with activities that the entire family can attend and enjoy.

For those who want to maintain the religious spirit of the day, how about a major gospel concert featuring local and international talent?

For others, perhaps a beach party or a fun filled attraction for children at the Emilio Wilson Park… ?

The point I’m trying to make is that AFTER giving praise and thanks to the Lord (which many do anyway at any time) St. Martin Thanksgiving should find other ways to bring us together and keep us together for the rest of the day.

Maybe businesses could further capitalize on this by stretching their super deals from the US Thanksgiving to our own Thanksgiving Day and call it Thanksgiving Week Sales or whatever their advertising agencies deem fit.

Our Tourism offices on both halves of the island could even launch a joint promotional campaign inviting visitors (especially from the region) to come spend Thanksgiving week in St. Martin with guaranteed shopping deals.

Rather than take issue with the US Thanksgiving Day being observed here. maybe it would be better for us to concentrate on making our Thanksgiving Day one that we can all proudly embrace.

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