We share with you the column by our President, Mario J. Paredes
THANKSGIVING DAY is the most important celebration of the year in the United States. Amid gatherings, family dinners, gifts, travel, and reunions, on the last Thursday of November the country comes to a halt to celebrate.
Its historical origin dates back to 1621—an origin and meaning that are controversial for some groups, especially Native American communities—and commemorates a harvest celebration shared by the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag people. Although it was not originally a religious feast, THANKSGIVING celebrates a fundamental human experience: gratitude—the ability to give thanks, to be thankful, to live in gratitude.
This human capacity is born of the ability to perceive gratuitousness and loving presence in all that we are and have, as a gift from the Transcendent and from others.
THANKSGIVING DAY is a day of family gathering, an occasion that fosters reunion and family unity, with the table as the center and symbol of that unity. In recent years, however, the tradition of “Friendsgiving” has emerged, in which friends gather to celebrate, adapting the holiday to a more open, informal, and modern context.
Although it is primarily a family celebration, the spirit of Thanksgiving extends to the wider community through many expressions of care for the most disadvantaged members of society. Thus, many charitable organizations offer meals to people who are homeless or in need, and food donation events are held, reflecting the value of gratitude expressed through solidarity and generous sharing—helping our neighbors who are socially weaker and more vulnerable. In addition, in the United States, Thanksgiving marks the unofficial beginning of the Christmas holiday season.
THANKSGIVING has endured throughout the history of the United States, but if we wish to preserve its value, truth, meaning, and significance, it demands that each year we evaluate the personal, family, and national reasons we have to give thanks.
We live in times of great social challenges, uncertainty, the exacerbation of our difficulties, and the problematization of all the aspects that—until now—have constituted and identified us as a leading nation in the world and an example of political values such as democracy.
Structural racism, intolerance and discrimination, anti-immigrant policies and sentiment, the crisis of care and public health policies—especially regarding mental health and addiction—gun violence and public safety, economic inequality, public debt and resulting budget deficits, labor market challenges and insufficient employment opportunities, inflation, the risks posed by climate change, and geopolitical and global competition concerns are issues that worry us all.
Large segments of the population living in the shadows or in political and legal limbo, the erosion of checks and balances within the powers that constitute the democratic system, the growing violation of human and civil rights—these are major, complex, and multifaceted problems. They are challenges that lead us—especially on this THANKSGIVING DAY, 2025—to ask ourselves what the true reasons are for giving thanks.
Addressing so many ills and so much social unease and uncertainty requires urgent, rigorous policies of justice and social equality; social investment in historically marginalized communities; comprehensive and humane immigration reform; electoral reforms; legal reforms and investment in health; gun control legislation; tax reforms; investment in renewable energy; a coherent foreign policy; and more. These challenges confront all of us who make up this great North American nation.
Because solving the serious problems we face—now and in the near future—requires the capacity to build political consensus among social leaders from all sectors and a united will across society. This is a difficult challenge to overcome, especially given the severe polarization we experience across all sectors.
Thus, THANKSGIVING DAY is a pillar of American culture—a national holiday that weaves together tradition, gratitude, family gathering, consumerism, and charity. It remains a fundamental moment for American society, one that—hopefully—reflects both its values of unity and generosity and the complexities of its past and, especially, its present.
Why do we give thanks? What do we have to be thankful for? Because giving thanks is much more than a date or a family dinner. Gratitude is a daily human experience that embodies fundamental human values: dialogue, listening, solidarity, hospitality, mercy, respect, tolerance, forgiveness for peace, and abundant life for all. In short, gratitude commits us all to continually build real reasons to be thankful—to give thanks.