Thanksgiving is like the middle child of holidays—it sits between its two highly consumeristic and attention-seeking siblings, Halloween and Christmas, and gratefulness is quickly forgotten in the frenzy of Black Friday. It is truly an American holiday: we overeat, watch football and partake in messy...

On Oct. 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of what we now call Hispaniola. Hailed as an American hero for his “discovery” of the “New World,” he has a holiday dedicated to this known as Columbus Day. In recent years, however, a movement to denounce Columbus Day and instead...