Thanksgiving In America

Thanksgiving is one of America’s most precious holidays and traditions. Even though there are a couple of factors in the way we perceive the day, it can mean different thing to many different people. The Arabic definition for the word thanksgiving is "shukr." There are two main religious thanksgiving days in the religion of Islam: one is Ramadan and one following the pilgrimage rites in Mecca. These days include prayers, thanksgiving means, and generous charities to the poor. Throughout my life living in America thanksgiving was a huge part of my life, but when I moved to Syria we did not really celebrate it anymore. It has been five whole years that I did not celebrate thanksgiving. Luckily, Montclair State University changed that for me.

The second event I attended to as a freshman at MSU was “Thankslivin”. This event was held by the Montclair Muslim Student Association (MSA) on November 19th right before the Thanksgiving holiday recess. I choose this event because I wanted to feel that thanksgiving holiday again. Even though I did not attend this event with my mom and dad I spent it with my friends and that was a nice thing to do. I really did enjoy this Thankslivin’ feast. MSA worked hard on this event to make is as comfortable as it can be for the people attending it. First the event began with a beautiful recitation of the Qur'an. Then, the MSA warmly welcomed a guest speaker named Zakir Ahmed who started to discuss how Islam perfected Thanksgiving. His lecture was so helpful because it made me realize how important this holiday is and its relationship to Islam. This event also helped me appreciate how diverse and excepting Montclair is to all of its students. As a freshman, I am now comfortable in my own skin. Thanks to the MSU MSA team's determination and hard work, this event could not have been more organized. Because of all the advertisements on campus, the audience gathering was amazing. Following the lecture of Zakir Ahmed, audience members were encouraged to ask a couple of questions. I could tell that after looking at the audience’s face, many looked like they could not wait to attend another event. There was delicious FREE FOOD like turkey sandwiches, snacks and many healthy food. Honestly it was fun getting to know more about Thanksgiving and my religion. It was really nice meeting new people. I really do look forward on what Montclair State University and the MSA has for us.