Thanksgiving has come and gone, providing much-needed time off for students to visit family and get away. As welcome as the time off was, it is important to address colonial roots that cling to Thanksgiving as a holiday. While many view it as an opportunity to spend time with family and reflect on what they are thankful for, the holiday’s origin is from the early colonial era.

The dominant narrative in the media is that Thanksgiving comes from a time when early settlers struggled to survive the autumn in North America and received aid from the Indigenous Peoples they encountered. They, together, ate the first Thanksgiving dinner, thankful for one another and their food. While this is a nice story, it omits the conflict, the war and the genocide of Indigenous Peoples that were perpetrated by the colonizers. While Canadians may want to distance themselves from these origins and claim that is the story of the United States Thanksgiving, which falls later in autumn, Canadian Thanksgiving happens to coincide with Americans’ Columbus Day – perpetuating the idea that the Americas were discovered and that Christopher Columbus is a figure to be celebrated. In short, Thanksgiving is a colonial holiday that erases important pieces of history, specifically for Indigenous Peoples.

So why is it that we get Thanksgiving off, but we don’t get any time off for Eid?

Eid-al-Fitr is a Muslim holiday, one that marks the end of the month of Ramadan, the holiest month, which we spend fasting. For the month of Ramadan, we do not eat food or drink water between sunrise and sunset. Because Islam follows the lunar calendar, this can fall at different times of year. For example, I find it easier to fast during the winter months, when the days are shorter, as opposed to the summer months. During my time at Bishop’s, Ramadan and Eid have fallen fairly consistently during the final exam period. This year, final exams of the Winter 2023 semester start on April 16. Eid 2023 falls on April 20. 

Eid is celebrated by sharing food, a feast, with friends and family, as you break the last fast of Ramadan. During Ramadan, as you fast, you reflect on your time without access to food and water. With each meal, and especially during Eid, you are thankful for the food that you have, and which others do not. You give food to those less fortunate than yourself. Almsgiving and fasting during Ramadan represent two of the five Pillars of Islam. During my years at Bishop’s, I have always wanted to host an Eid party. I always loved preparing for and celebrating Eid with my family, breaking our fast with a date and then having a feast and party. I would love nothing more than to share this aspect of my culture with my friends here at BU, but final exam period is not a time that anyone can take off to celebrate the holiday. I am tired of my academics isolating me from my culture and my religion.

Thematically, both Eid-al-Fitr and Thanksgiving are holidays for sharing food with your loved ones and reflecting on what you have to be thankful for. Only one of these holidays support colonial narratives. Yet, that is the day we are choosing to promote and celebrate. We should reflect on what holidays we are giving space to celebrate, and whose holidays are ignored.