I have heard the argument against celebrating Turkey Day, otherwise known as Thanksgiving, that it glorifies the decimation of indigenous peoples (Native Americans, also called American Indians). As a parent and someone who is aware that in truth Thanksgiving's nothing more than a harvest festival, I understand that by adding the images of pilgrims and Indians, the concept of a pagan harvest festival became non-pagan enough for earlier generations of Americans (as well as many of this current generation). I also have no qualms about sitting down to eat turkey and turnips and flopping on the couch afterward to watch football with people I rarely get to set time apart to spend time with.
As a parent, I appreciate the chance to have my daughters spend a day with both their grandparents and great-grandparents. Its too rare an occasion to be foregone because of misplaced guilt or neo-political correctness. It's the exact same reason that as a Pagan parent I have no qualms about celebrating both Solstice and Christmas: calling it Yule and explaining to the girls that it's all the same thing, celebrating the birth of the Sun God or the birth of the Son of God; not much difference there when you get right down to it. It's one of those few and far between days of the year that we get to see the entire family: the grandparents, the great-grandparents, the aunts and uncles, cousins and my sister who lives in Virginia who makes her once a year appearance.
This year we had a small relaxed dinner at my parents' house where, for the first time in countless years, my grandmother didn't have to run herself ragged cooking days in advance for the 20+ odd aunts, uncles, cousins and all their spouses/partners and kids. My grandparents had a great time visiting each of their kids' houses in turn, being cooked for, and still being able to see most every one of the 20+ relatives.
I remember the last year my grandmother went all out. Those of us grandkids who had, a few years before by merit of spouses and children of our own, finally been squeezed into spaces at the main table (much to our chagrin and consternation) were once again relegated to the little table due to lack of room at the main table. We'd finally burst its seams it seems. With having to finally borrow a second full sized table to cram into the living room next to the dining room, my grandparents finally decided their traditional Thanksgiving celebration had gotten out of hand. Being well into their golden years no longer had the energy for such a production, they could no longer invite the whole writhing mass of us. Hence they stopped being hosts and decided to take the route between the different families.
It was nice to see my parents and nicer still that my mother had my elder daughter sleep over the day after. It gave my husband and me a perfect chance to be the sneaky parents and get all the Yuletime gift shopping done for her. As always, we went just a teeeeeny bit overboard, but at least we determined when "that was it." We got all her stuff in one evening and now only have to buy gifts for my grandparents, my husband's parents and his three brothers, one sister and their spouses.
Celebrating two sets of holidays such as Solstice and Christmas and calling them both Yule can be hectic. With the fact that Santa, the lights, the tree, the decorations and the gifts are the same for either holiday, the season can be familiar and festive for everyone. More than that, the tradition of pulling the families together at this time of year is something that transcends culture and religion. So much of the year we are self-reliant little nuclear families braving the world on our own. But when the days shorten, leaves fall and snow threatens (at least most years), it is the time to duck under the wing of the greater family, see the aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents, nephews and nieces that we hardly have the time to think about during the rest of the year barring crowning achievements or dire crises in their lives.
No matter what the social, cultural or religious meanings and reasons you want to point out as the symbolic roots of these holidays, the crux of the matter remains family and friends, and any excuse to get them all together for a feast or party should be utilized. As I can attest to as a parent who herself was raised in a closeknit family whose threads seem to fray little by little as the years go by, we all see too little of each other than we should and holidays are the chance to re-knit the fraying of the greater family.