Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was first celebrated by Pilgrims and Native Americans in

colonial New England in the early 17th century. Its actual origin, however, probably traces to harvest festivals that have been traditional in many parts

 of the world since ancient times. Today Thanksgiving is mainly a celebration of domestic life, centered on the home and family.Long before Europeans settled in North America, western Europeans observed Harvest Home festivals to celebrate the successful completion of gathering-in the season's crops. In the British Isles, Lammas Day (Loaf Mass Day), observed on August 1, was often held to celebrate a good wheat harvest. If the wheat

crop was disappointing, the holiday was usually canceled.

Another important precursor to the modern Thanksgiving holiday was the custom among English Puritans of designating special days of thanksgiving

 to express gratitude for God's blessings. These observances were not held regularly, they usually took place only in times of crisis or immediately after a period of misfortune had passed. Puritan thanksgiving ceremonies were serious religious occasions and bore only a passing resemblance to modern Thanksgiving celebrations

Public observances of Thanksgiving usually emphasize the holiday's connection with the Pilgrims. Thanksgiving pageants and parades often feature children dressed in Pilgrim costume, complete with bonnets or tall hats, dark clothes, and shoes with large silver-colored buckles.

 

 

 

 

Many of the images commonly associated with Thanksgiving are derived

 from much older traditions of celebrating the autumn harvest. For example, the cornucopia (a horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruits and vegetables) is a typical emblem of Thanksgiving abundance that dates to ancient harvest festivals. Many communities also decorate their churches with fruits, flowers, and vegetables at Thanksgiving, much as European communities have for centuries during the autumn harvest season. In keeping with the idea of celebrating a plentiful harvest, preparing and eating a largemeal is a central part of most Thanksgiving celebrations

 

Thanksgiving menus usually include turkey, bread-crumb stuffing, cranberry sauce,squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. These simple foods recall the rustic virtues of the Pilgrims. Additionally, most of these foods are native to North America, emphasizing the natural bounty

 

that greeted early settlers in their adopted homeland. Later groups of immigrants to North America often adapted the traditional holiday menu

 to fit their own tastes. For example, many Italian American Thanksgiving meals include Italian specialties, such as pasta and wine.

 

 

Information obtained at Encarta.com

 

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Page created on October, 19, 2001