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Thanksgiving – The Blood-Soaked Feast Nobody Talks About
Picture this: it’s 1637, and Puritan colonists are surrounding a Pequot village at dawn. What happened next wasn’t the peaceful dinner with Indians your elementary school teacher described. Between 400 to 700 Pequot men, women, and children were killed in what became known as the Mystic Massacre, with most of the victims being women and children since the warriors were away from the fort. The colonists set fire to the village, shooting those who tried to escape by climbing over the palisade. Governor John Winthrop declared a day of thanksgiving to honor the safe return of the brave soldiers who had taken part in it, celebrating what was essentially a massacre. George Washington later suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre.
Mardi Gras – The Party That Still Excludes
Behind the colorful beads and jazz music lies a troubling legacy of segregation that persists today. For most of their histories, many krewes, particularly the most exclusive and elite of the city, were intended only for white people, and it took until 1992 for the city to pass an ordinance desegregating New Orleans krewes. Even more disturbing, two krewes, the Krewe of Comus and the Knights of Momus, cancelled their parades in 1992 rather than comply with the new law. In many ways, krewes still lack diversity and their members reflect the racial composition of membership before 1992. Decades after the end of Jim Crow, cities like Mobile, Alabama, are still shot through with racial segregation, and that segregation is reflected in the city’s Mardi Gras culture, where some social societies still maintain white-only membership. Despite a city ordinance passed in 1992 that aimed to integrate popular Mardi Gras krewes, many acknowledge an informal segregation of Carnival season persists.
Fourth of July – Independence for Some, Chains for Others
While white Americans celebrated their freedom from British rule, nearly four million enslaved people remained in bondage for almost another century. In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” delivered on July 5, 1852, at an Independence Day celebration. In his scathing speech, Douglass stated, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn”. In the address, Douglass states that positive statements about perceived American values, such as liberty, citizenship, and freedom, were an offense to the enslaved population of the United States because they lacked those rights. This powerful speech reminded America that “This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn”, exposing the hypocrisy of celebrating freedom while denying it to millions. A major theme of the speech is how America is not living up to its proclaimed beliefs, as Americans are proud of their country and their religion and how they rejoice in the name of freedom and liberty, and yet they do not offer those things to millions of their country’s residents.
Coachella – Progressive Facade, Conservative Funding
The desert festival might look like a progressive paradise, but its owner’s political donations tell a different story. Philip Anschutz, the global concert promoter whose $10 billion entertainment portfolio includes festivals like Coachella, donated $1,020,000 to two organizations that made public statements against LGBTQ people — Colorado Christian University and the Sky Ranch Christian camping organization between December 2017 and November 2018. Anschutz Foundation gave $110,000 to Alliance Defending Freedom between 2011 and 2013, $50,000 to National Christian Foundation between 2011 and 2013, and $30,000 to Family Research Council between 2010 and 2013. Several days later, on June 29, according to a filing submitted to the IRS in July, the Anschutz Corporation made a donation of $75,000 to RAGA, as the organization gears up for election season with the aim of installing Attorneys General who will enforce and champion anti-abortion laws. While Anschutz has denied these accusations and claimed to support LGBTQ rights, at least 15 artists who performed at Coachella this year — including Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, and Phoebe Bridgers — signed a full-page ad in The New York Times condemning the Court’s actions on reproductive rights.
St. Patrick’s Day – From Persecution to Party
Today’s green beer celebrations completely ignore the brutal discrimination Irish immigrants faced when they first arrived in America. In the 19th century, “No Irish Need Apply” signs were commonplace across American cities, and Irish Catholics were viewed with suspicion and hostility. The Irish faced violent anti-Catholic riots, job discrimination, and were often portrayed in newspapers as subhuman caricatures with ape-like features. Many Protestant Americans believed that Irish Catholics couldn’t be trusted as citizens because their loyalty was supposedly to the Pope rather than America. The transformation of St. Patrick’s Day from a religious observance to a celebration of Irish-American identity was partly a response to this persecution. What we celebrate today as a fun cultural festival was born from a community fighting for basic acceptance and respect in a hostile nation.
Columbus Day Parades – Marching for a Murderer
Italian-Americans created Columbus Day parades as a source of ethnic pride, but they were unknowingly celebrating one of history’s most brutal colonizers. Columbus enslaved thousands of indigenous people, forcing them to mine gold under horrific conditions where many died. He ordered the hands of Native Americans to be cut off if they failed to bring him enough gold, and he sold girls as young as nine into sexual slavery. His own writings reveal a man obsessed with wealth and power, describing the indigenous people as “very well-built, with handsome bodies and very fine faces” but immediately plotting how to enslave them. The celebration of Columbus became a way for Italian-Americans to assert their place in American society during a time when they faced discrimination, but it came at the cost of whitewashing genocide. Modern Columbus Day parades continue to honor a man whose actions would be considered war crimes today.
Burning Man – Eco-Hypocrisy in the Desert
The festival that preaches “Leave No Trace” creates an environmental disaster every year that contradicts everything it claims to stand for. Thousands of wealthy attendees fly private jets to Nevada, creating massive carbon emissions before the festival even begins. The desert event generates enormous amounts of plastic waste, abandoned RVs, and toxic materials that contaminate the fragile ecosystem. Despite the festival’s principles about sustainability and environmental consciousness, studies show that a single Burning Man festival produces more carbon emissions than some small countries. The irony runs deeper when you consider that many attendees are tech billionaires and celebrities who lecture others about climate change while contributing massively to the problem. The festival’s “radical self-reliance” philosophy is also undermined by the fact that many wealthy burners hire service companies to set up their camps and clean up after them.
Rose Parade – Beauty Built on Exploitation
Those stunning flower floats that grace Pasadena’s New Year celebration are constructed by workers facing dangerous conditions and poverty wages. Behind the scenes, largely undocumented immigrants work grueling shifts in warehouses filled with toxic glues and chemicals, often without proper safety equipment or adequate ventilation. Workers report being paid below minimum wage for the seasonal work, with no benefits or job security. The pressure to complete floats on impossible deadlines leads to workers pulling all-night shifts, sometimes for days on end. Many of these workers are afraid to report unsafe conditions because of their immigration status, creating a perfect storm of exploitation. The Tournament of Roses Association, which organizes the parade, has faced criticism for turning a blind eye to these labor practices while profiting from the spectacle. The beautiful flowers that represent the “American Dream” are literally built on the backs of America’s most vulnerable workers.
Halloween – Salem’s Bloody Legacy
America’s Halloween traditions are deeply rooted in the colonial witch trials that terrorized communities and led to the execution of innocent people. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692-1693 resulted in 20 deaths, with most victims being women who were hanged or pressed to death with stones. The hysteria was fueled by religious extremism, social tensions, and mass paranoia that turned neighbors against each other. Young girls who made accusations held the power of life and death over adults in their community, creating a reign of terror that lasted for months. The trials revealed the dark underbelly of Puritan society, where religious fanaticism and misogyny combined to create a deadly witch hunt. Modern Halloween celebrations, with their focus on witches, ghosts, and supernatural terror, are directly connected to this traumatic period in American history. The commercialization of Halloween has sanitized these historical horrors, turning real suffering into entertainment.
New Year’s Eve in Times Square – Propaganda Dressed as Party
The iconic ball drop that millions watch every year started as a publicity stunt by The New York Times to promote their new headquarters and boost newspaper sales. During World War I and World War II, the event was deliberately used as wartime propaganda to boost morale and distract Americans from the brutal realities of war. The government encouraged large public gatherings like the Times Square celebration to project an image of American strength and unity to both domestic and international audiences. Over the decades, the event has become increasingly commercialized, with corporate sponsors paying millions to have their brands associated with the celebration. The “spontaneous” crowd shots are carefully orchestrated, with paid actors and planted audience members to ensure the right visual message. What appears to be a genuine celebration of community and hope is actually a massive marketing operation designed to sell products and promote American exceptionalism. The ball drop has become less about marking time and more about reinforcing consumer culture and nationalist messaging.
Did you expect your favorite festivals to have such twisted backstories lurking beneath the surface?
Besides founding Festivaltopia, Luca is the co founder of trib, an art and fashion collectiv you find on several regional events and online. Also he is part of the management board at HORiZONTE, a group travel provider in Germany.
