Thanksgiving has come and gone...

Here in the U.S. we just celebrated Thanksgiving day last week. Being a teacher, I was certainly looking forward to my first days off since school started for me at the end of August. To me, Thanksgiving is a special holiday since it revolves around family, which is very important to me. It is one of two days in the U.S. (the other day being Christmas Day) where nearly every business is closed so that people can spend time with their families.



While the first Thanksgiving celebrated in the U.S. was in Virginia Colony, the Thanksgiving traditions that we hold so dear today come down to us through the traditions established in Plymouth Colony (in what is now Massachusetts) by the Separatists, whom we commonly call Pilgrims today. While not a lot was written about the first Thanksgiving, tradition indicates that after having a rough go at it their first winter in the Plymouth Colony, the Separatists where shown how to grow crops suitable to the land by the native tribes. That autumn the Separatists had a feast in thanksgiving of their abundant harvest. The native tribes who helped were also present at the festivities and shared in the food and fun. The holiday was celebrated sporadically in the U.S. until Abraham Lincoln established it as a national holiday during our Civil War in the 1860s.



Today, most families will gather for one (sometimes two!) meals on Thanksgiving. The main dish is a nice roasted turkey with sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing or dressing, green bean casserole, squash, candied yams, cranberry sauce and rolls, to name a few! For dessert most people will have pumpkin pie. While the meal is going on, many Americans enjoy watching the traditional Thanksgiving football game (the American version). Here in Michigan, everyone tunes in to watch the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers play their annual game.


Usually in the evening, having enjoyed a nice big meal, people drift off to bed. Everyone needs plenty of rest for the next day, known as "Black Friday", the traditional kick-off of the Christmas shopping season. Crowds pack the stores as early at 4 or 5 am in order to purchase gifts at a great discount. Not me, however. I was curled up in a warm bed, appreciating another day off of work. How many shopping days until Christmas??