This Party Tip submitted by BizGirl - Sep 2nd, 2008

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   • What is Thanksgiving?

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     So, you’d like to know, what is Thanksgiving. In this short summary, you will learn what is Thanksgiving in the United States today as well as the origins of Thanksgiving that lead to the current meaning of Thanksgiving.

     On Thanksgiving, the 4th Thursday of November,  people travel to their family and friends homes to partake in the giving of thanks and enjoy a bountiful feast. People give thanks, usually in a prayer, to show gratitude for the blessings that bestow them. Thanksgiving, also know as turkey day, incorporates many foods into the holiday feast. These foods include turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, bread, and pumpkin pie. Other popular Thanksgiving activities include football, parades, exercise, and planning their day after Thanksgiving shopping strategy.

     
     The first recordings of Thanksgiving took place on September 8th, 1565. Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles lead 600 spanish settlers to where is now known as Saint Augustine, Florida. As soon as they touched dry land they held a mass giving thanks for their safe travels. After the mass they ate and celebrated the accomplishments God provided.

     
     The second recording of Thanksgiving was by the Virginia Colony of 1619 where Captain John Woodleaf gave thanks to God for safe travels and declared the day of Thanksgiving an annual tradition.

     
     The third recording of Thanksgiving, and most popular, took place in the Plymouth colony in 1621 where pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians celebrated and gave thanks to healthy crops. During the celebration they shared food and friendship.The foods that they most likely shared include fowl, venison, lobster, corn, eel, cod, pumpkin, carrots, beans, peas, onions, grapes, plums, leeks, cinnamon, acorns, chestnuts, and walnuts.

     
     Until 1863, the different colonies individually governed their day of Thanksgiving. Some held Thanksgiving more than once a year. Many colonies praised God on this day and fasted.  It wasn’t until later that they gave thanks to other achievements such as warfare.

     
     After 36 years of writing to colony leaders, Sarah Josepha Hale received her wish in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln instituted Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Since then, the holiday has received yearly recognition.

     
     The National Turkey Federation began a ceremony called the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation in the 1940’s. The ceremony provides one turkey for pardon and two for the feast. The one live turkey that receives the pardon gets a one-way first class ticket to Disney where the turkey can live out its days in a pasture.

     
     The summary started with what is Thanksgiving today and was followed by the sequences that lead to what Thanksgiving is today.

     
     
   • Tags: origin thanksgiving
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