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| An Illustrated History of Thanksgiving | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thanksgiving is celebrated as a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It is a time to express one's thanks for good fortune throughout the year. And maybe to remember a little about who and what have contributed to this good fortune. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The origin of this tradition dates back to the 1621. On 1620, the Mayflower set ground on Plymouth Rock. This was the final destination of the Separatists. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To escape religious persecution The Separatists left their home in England and first sailed to Holland but soon they became tired with the ungodly way of living of the Dutch and decided to make a pilgrimage to America. For this they negotiated with a London Stock Company to finance a trip to America. Along with the Pilgrims the others who made this trip were those whom the company hired to protect it's interest. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The first Thanksgiving in New England was celebrated in Plymouth less than a year after the Plymouth colonists had settled in America. The first dreadful winter in had killed about half the members of the colony. But new hope arose in the summer of 1621. The settlers expected a good corn harvest, despite poor crops of peas, wheat, and barley. Thus, in early autumn, governor William Bradford arranged a harvest festival to give thanks to God for the progress the colony had made. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The festival lasted three days. The men of Plymouth had shot ducks, geese, and turkeys. The menu also included clams, eel and other fish, wild plums and leeks, corn bread, and watercress. The women of the settlement supervised cooking over outdoor fires. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| About 90 Indians also attended the festival. They brought five deer to add to the feast. Everyone ate outdoors at large tables and enjoyed games and a military review. Similar harvest Thanksgivings were held in Plymouth during the next several years, but no traditional date was set. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thanksgiving Day is associated with certain symbols and foods. Turkey is part of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Cranberries are also part of the dinner, probably because the Pilgrims had cranberries, which they found in bogs around Plymouth. The horn of plenty, or the "cornucopia," is a familiar Thanksgiving symbol. It is a symbol of earth's bounty, and reminds us how much of our food comes from the earth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The horn of plenty, or the Cornucopia, is pronounced kawr nuh KOH pee uh. According to Greek mythology, it was one of the horns of Amalthaea, the goat who nursed the god Zeus when he was a baby. The horn produced ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the gods. In Roman mythology, the cornucopia was the horn of the river god Achelous. The hero Hercules broke off the horn in combat with Achelous, who was fighting in the form of a bull. Water nymphs filled the horn with flowers and fruit and offered it to Copia, the goddess of plenty. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| In the United States today, Thanksgiving is usually a family day, celebrated with big dinners and joyous reunions. The very mention of Thanksgiving often calls up memories of kitchens and pantries crowded with good things to eat. But we must not forget that Thanksgiving is also a time for prayer and giving thanks for all that we hold dear in our lives. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Wishing You A Very Special Thanksgiving! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To send this greeting card to a friend or relative just CLICK HERE
http://www.nancysuemain.com/CardsHdayThanksgivingHistory More Great Places To Visit
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