Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

With the holidays fast approaching and Thanksgiving being tomorrow, let me wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

This holiday first began in 1621, a long long time ago. The pilgrims and the Indians shared a hearty meal that today is referred to the first Thanksgiving celebration in our great nations history, then being the colonies. While the days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states for more than two centuries, it wasn't until 1863 during the civil war that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national holiday called Thanksgiving Day and declared that it would be held each November, but it wasn't until November 26, 1941 that Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

As we all know, the Mayflower which set sail in September 1620 leaving Plymouth England, to find new land, carried 102 passengers all looking for a land they could call their own to freely practice their faith. Others went to pursue prosperity and land ownership in the new world. The journey last 66 days, they arrived at Cape Cod, well north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. A month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay where the Pilgrims began to establish a village at Plymouth, which would later be known as Plymouth Rock. During that treacherous first winter in their new land, the ship became home to many of the colonists. Most were suffering from exposure to scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Half of the original crew members lived to see Spring in the new land. As March arrived, the remaining settlers moved onto land when they were visited by an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. The Indians taught the settlers how to harvest corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. It is believed that the first Thanksgiving dinner was made with Deer meat. It featured no deserts like pie or cakes.

There you have it a small history of Thanksgiving. So lets remember to give thanks for all that we have today. If it wasn't for the first settlers, where would we be today?

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