(Andy Warhol, 1985)

Originally, when I was thinking about what I wanted to say in this post, I was going to open by saying that, right after the 4th of July, Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays.

But, actually, that’s not totally true.  Though Thanksgiving may have been first been celebrated in the States, many nations have days specifically set aside for giving thanks.  Canadian Thanksgiving has been celebrated since 1879.  Some people in The Netherlands, from which many of the pilgrims originally came, celebrate the holiday.  Liberia observes Thanksgiving on the first Thursday of November.  In Grenada, a Thanksgiving holiday is observed on October 25th.

That said, Thanksgiving always makes me think of America.  Later today, I’ll be at my uncle’s, having a huge meal.  Because the weather’s getting cold, we’ll probably eat inside.  If we did happen to go outside to eat, we’d be eating in the shadow of an American flag, one that’s much larger than the one in this picture.  That’s right — on Thanksgiving, my uncle actually lowers his Texas flag and replaces it with an American flag.  That’s the power of this holiday.

(Rest assured, at midnight exactly, the Texas flag will go back up.)

As for today’s artwork of the day, this picture was taken by Andy Warhol in 1985, two years before he passed away.  As with much of Warhol’s work, it somehow manages to be both earnest and satiric at the same time.  It was this combination that made Warhol such a uniquely American artist.

Enjoy this uniquely but not solely American holiday!