By May Hunter, For Iron County Today
Thanksgiving is as lively as American Life – and the history of this holiday is a great part of America.
Thanksgiving is America’s oldest and most loved holiday, but there is a lot we don’t know. The celebrated Plymouth Thanksgiving was not the first. The Pilgrims’ harvest feast was plentiful as the legend tells us. The first Thanksgiving was probably offered at the 1621 harvest gathering lasting over three days. The first recorded Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth happened two years later in 1623. The Colonists gave thanks to God for rain after a two-month drought. At least 100 people came to dinner. The Native people wanted to eat while sitting on the ground like they did at their home. English people wanted to eat while sitting at the table, as they did at their home. Record has it that they ate wild turkey, venison, geese and other fowl. Early history tells us the Pilgrims ate turkey at their first feast because of the abundance of edible wild turkeys in New England. They also ate blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and plums, which were commonly eaten at that time. As Thanksgiving Day became popular during the 1800s so did the turkey. By 1857, turkey had become the main part of the traditional dinner in New England. On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November.
Thanksgiving is celebrated as a means of giving thanks for family, friends, food, and health. Today in the United States, the Thanksgiving celebration is really about family and friends eating a large meal, which almost always includes turkey. It’s a day spent with family and or friends to give thanks for the things they feel fortunate to have in their lives.
Thanksgiving means a time of year for good food, good people, and being grateful for everything in life. The weather gets colder, but this time of year really warms your heart. Which it should. It’s a time of great food, great traditions, and giving back to both loved ones and those you don’t even know. What’s not to love about that? Everyone has their own traditions, everyone has a different way of doing “Turkey Day.” It’s a great time to bring everyone together and share gratitude for all the things we value most. We all have much to be thankful for. Be thankful for all the people who help you get through each day. Notice good things, look carefully at them and appreciate them. Appreciate good friends and neighbors. It’s a whole day to be thankful. Sometimes we just need a reminder of how lucky we are.
Thanksgiving get-togethers are a bit different for us now. Many of us are looking forward and thankful to be celebrating in person. But now with the wonders of technology, families can set up video chat with everyone you’re missing during the holiday.
“Thanksgiving is about spending time with family and friends, enjoying being with one another. And of course some tasty food. What more could anyone ask for? It should definitely be your favorite holiday.”
“Thanksgiving isn’t just a day….it’s a way we can live our lives every day”