#THANKFULTHURSDAY
It’s Thursday 24th November, so our friends across the pond are celebrating ‘Thanksgiving’. Social media would lead you to believe that Thanksgiving is all about turkeys, stuffing and pumpkin or sweet potato pie but the traditions of Thanksgiving have far more deep roots than a fancy feast.
“Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. It was originally celebrated as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well.” In the States, Thanksgiving has traditionally been a celebration of the blessings of the year, including the harvest. It’s reported that Thanksgiving is more widely celebrated than Christmas.
Although we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, it’s origins can actually be traced to England! “Thanksgiving Day can be traced back to the 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the religious refugees from England known popularly as the Pilgrims invited the local Native Americans to a harvest feast after a particularly successful growing season. The previous year’s harvests had failed and in the winter of 1620, half of the pilgrims had starved to death. Luckily for the rest, members of the local Wampanoag tribe taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn, beans and squash (the Three Sisters); catch fish, and collect seafood. There are only two contemporary accounts of the 1621 Thanksgiving, but it’s clear that turkey was not on the menu. The three-day feast included goose, lobster, cod and deer.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/thanksgiving-day-whats-the-history-of-the-holiday-and-why-does-the-us-celebrate-pilgrim-fathers/)
One mordern Thanksgiving tradition that can be seen in homes across America, is taking a moment to go around the dining table and say what you are thankful for. Eventhough Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK, maybe this is something we could emmulate and take the opportunity to reflect on all that we are thankful for.
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Just one more thing.
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