Happy Thanksgiving

• by donr
• 2012-11-22 11:11:16
• General Posting
• 838 views
• 6 comments

That's a wish for all members, no matter where you are in the World.

I haven't seen it yet posted in here, so a quick & dirty explanation of this day for the non- American continent members who may be stumbling upon this most American holiday. There is a holiday w/ the same name & essentially identical purpose celebrated in Canada in October. I'll leave an explanation of that to our Canadian neighbors.

It is as old as our country, having been celebrated for the first time about the second year after the first settlers arrived from England. After a disastrous winter that saw many deaths from starvation and illness, followed by a successful harvest, they celebrated with a great feast & prayerful event, thanking their God for their survival & good fortune. This event took place about 1621

Fast forward to the 1770 decade:

A few years ago, like about 235 +/- a few, we had a little revolution here. It was not a fun time for anyone involved on the winning side. The weather was absolutely abominable; the rebel forces rarely got paid by the penurious states, you could track them in winter by the bloody trails their footprints left in the snow. It was a terrible mis-match of forces between the British Redcoats & the poorly clothed & equipped rabble of our Continental Army. Like all revolutions, it was a case of brother against brother; neighbor against neighbor. It was a terrible war, w/ animosities abounding. Contrary to folklore, we were split about 33% rabidly supporting the cause; about 33% loyal to the British Crown & 33% who really didn't care - they just wanted to be left alone.

Well, we all know now how it turned out. Out of that melee, the United States was born. Essentially because of the outstanding leadership of one man, George Washington, who was elected the first president of our country.

One of the first Acts of the new President in 1789 was to declare a national day of prayer & thanksgiving for our having survived the war successfully. That happened only once & was relegated to the rubbish bin of history ( to quote another world-famous revolutionary).

That is until the American Civil War some 80 yrs later. Again it was brother against brother, etc., in a bloody exercise to determine if this nation should survive as a single entity. President Lincoln, remembering the act of President Washington, once again proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving for the nation to celebrate the survival of the Union. This was in 1863, before the was was ended.

The holiday was celebrated in various ways & on various dates until 1939, when President Roosevelt, during the waning years of the "Great Depression," proclaimed a resurrection of the holiday. IN 1941, just prior to the US entering WW-II, Congress made it a national holiday,designating the 4th Thursday of November as the day for it to take place. It has been there ever since.

Thanksgiving day is designated as a National day of celebration and giving thanks to our Deity, whoever it shall be, and all may celebrate it in their own fashion. Generally speaking the celebratory feast consists of roasted turkey plus a mound of other goodies. Since it comes on a Thursday, the Friday following has by habit turned into a day of doing nothing but getting over the results of the overeating the day before..

So, with that history, on behalf of all Americans, everywhere, I invite everyone to join us in celebration a celebration of our national holiday that is unique to us.

Don.