Happy thaksgiving

[Guest guest]

Just seen your Macy (?) parade. For everyone that wanted to know who the

Wiggles were they were in it. What is thanksgiving actually for there? Is it

something to do with the settlers?

[Guest guest]

sorry this is so long, but its a great story.

The Thanksgiving Story

The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally

members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled

their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape

religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they

eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly.

Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to

finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the

Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's

interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first

winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46

of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a

bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast --

including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is

believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the

help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest

festival than a true " thanksgiving " observance. It lasted three days.

Governor Bradford sent " four men fowling " after wild ducks and geese. It

is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain

that they had venison. The term " turkey " was used by the Pilgrims to mean any

sort of wild fowl.

Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it

is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had

been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However,

they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their

corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no

domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still

considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish,

berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

This " thanksgiving " feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623,

during a severe drought, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for

rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford

proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. It

wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of town, Massachusetts, held a

meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had

seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed

Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is

notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians,

as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists'

recent victory over the " heathen natives, " (see the proclamation).

October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a

thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the

British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.

Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although

some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the

hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later,

President Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.

It was pha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to

what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her

cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book.

Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors

and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President

Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was

changed a couple of times, most recently by lin Roosevelt, who set it up

one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas

shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to

move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941,

Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the

fourth Thursday in November.

Happy thaksgiving

Just seen your Macy (?) parade. For everyone that wanted to know who the

Wiggles were they were in it. What is thanksgiving actually for there? Is it

something to do with the settlers?

[Guest guest]

THAT WAS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I learned stuff!!!

Rosemary in New York with three children with CF - they are 11, 9, 5.......

I coined the phrase " BREATHE DAMMIT "

[Guest guest]

; the story is that it has to do with the early settlers sitting

down and eating with the native population already here--I'm not

sure about the historical veracity of any of this--that they ate turkeys,

pumkins, much less any squash or whatever. But cer

tainly the idea has taken hold--we're really into Turkeys, pum

kins, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, pies of all kinds,

such as pumkin, squash (which pumpkin is one of), minced meat,

cranberry, sweet potato--it just doesn't end, and the stuffing

which goes into that poor turkey has more recipes for it than any

other commonly eaten food in the US. I di not eat any stuffing as

it is rather fat, can't have the pies as I have CFRD which gives me

both hypo and hyperglicemia, but we sure whooped it up anyway.

and at least it's relatively ethnicly neutral celebration (except for

those poor turkeys!), and for most, religiously neutral. This was

the first year in my life that my relatively unemotional friends all

prayed, in respect for the City of New York, which is still suffering,

and for the families of those who died of anthrax. What is usually

as rather jolly occasion took on a very solemn note as we all tho

ught of those in Afghanistan who are starving, and those here who

are doing without much, too. In some ways the whole holiday has

now changed to a memorial to so many--native americans and

turkeys not withstanding.

On the other hand, someone in our house burned a whole batch of

" stuffing " that was not in the turkey but in a pan in the oven, and

we all had to evacuate while some cleaned it all up, and others re-

set the smoke alarm--always adds to the day! I know that Cana

da has a Thanksgiving day at a different time of the year. Do Aus

tralians have anything similar?

I'll stop now. Love to you and yours, with or without strange and

possibly pseudo celebrations,

n Rojas

[Guest guest]

MArion,

No we dont have thanksgiving. This time of the year we have x-mas and in

south australis we have proclomation day, which is boxing day elsewhere and

new years day.

Re: Happy thaksgiving

> ; the story is that it has to do with the early settlers sitting

> down and eating with the native population already here--I'm not

> sure about the historical veracity of any of this--that they ate turkeys,

> pumkins, much less any squash or whatever. But cer

> tainly the idea has taken hold--we're really into Turkeys, pum

> kins, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, pies of all kinds,

> such as pumkin, squash (which pumpkin is one of), minced meat,

> cranberry, sweet potato--it just doesn't end, and the stuffing

> which goes into that poor turkey has more recipes for it than any

> other commonly eaten food in the US. I di not eat any stuffing as

> it is rather fat, can't have the pies as I have CFRD which gives me

> both hypo and hyperglicemia, but we sure whooped it up anyway.

> and at least it's relatively ethnicly neutral celebration (except for

> those poor turkeys!), and for most, religiously neutral. This was

> the first year in my life that my relatively unemotional friends all

> prayed, in respect for the City of New York, which is still suffering,

> and for the families of those who died of anthrax. What is usually

> as rather jolly occasion took on a very solemn note as we all tho

> ught of those in Afghanistan who are starving, and those here who

> are doing without much, too. In some ways the whole holiday has

> now changed to a memorial to so many--native americans and

> turkeys not withstanding.

> On the other hand, someone in our house burned a whole batch of

> " stuffing " that was not in the turkey but in a pan in the oven, and

> we all had to evacuate while some cleaned it all up, and others re-

> set the smoke alarm--always adds to the day! I know that Cana

> da has a Thanksgiving day at a different time of the year. Do Aus

> tralians have anything similar?

> I'll stop now. Love to you and yours, with or without strange and

> possibly pseudo celebrations,

> n Rojas

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you, , very much, Love to you and all of yours,

n Rojas