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Post by tannis on Nov 26, 2009 7:27:24 GMT
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Post by Neo Stella on Nov 26, 2009 13:23:49 GMT
Can you tell an ignorant englishman the origins and meaning of thanksgiving and why it is on this date..
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Post by tannis on Nov 26, 2009 18:27:16 GMT
Yes, Neo, Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival, a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God for a common purpose, but is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.
The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its origins to a meal held in 1621 by the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians. [At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance; harvest festivals existed in English and Wampanoag tradition alike.]
Thanksgiving Day became a federal [or bank] holiday in 1941, to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends, traditionally featuring baked or roasted turkey, and a blend of native and European foods. The American Christmas season traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving. (wiki)
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Post by Al Truest on Nov 28, 2009 15:42:50 GMT
Yes, Neo, Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival, a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God for a common purpose, but is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.
The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its origins to a meal held in 1621 by the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians. [At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance; harvest festivals existed in English and Wampanoag tradition alike.]
Thanksgiving Day became a federal [or bank] holiday in 1941, to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends, traditionally featuring baked or roasted turkey, and a blend of native and European foods. And of course we proceeded to annihilate the Native Americans - take their land - and relegate them to reservations where we can now go to gamble or witness rampant unemployment and substance addiction. I suppose I am thankful nonetheless. [/color] [/quote] Traditionally yes...but commercially it starts right after Halloween now.
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Post by tannis on Nov 28, 2009 16:27:15 GMT
And of course we proceeded to annihilate the Native Americans - take their land - and relegate them to reservations where we can now go to gamble or witness rampant unemployment and substance addiction. I suppose I am thankful nonetheless. Yes, Al, this also from wiki: Since 1970, a group of Native Americans and other assorted protesters have held a National Day of Mourning protest on Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the name of social equality and in honor of political prisoners.
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Nov 28, 2009 23:27:07 GMT
Can you tell an ignorant englishman the origins and meaning of thanksgiving and why it is on this date.. I do wonder why it's held at the end of November. To be sure, I understand that harvest festivals were common both in European cultures as well as North American native cultures (and presumably others). But harvest time starts in August in Northern Europe and the "New England" states of the US. By this time in November you'd be running the risk of your festival being covered in snow ... especially around 1621. There were some cold spells in the Northern Hemisphere back in the 17th century.
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Post by tannis on Nov 29, 2009 0:27:09 GMT
In the UK there is no national date for a harvest festival: harvest festivals and suppers are traditionally held near the harvest Moon (the full Moon which falls in the month of September at or around the autumn equinox). In Canada, Thanksgiving Day (Canadian French: Jour de l'Action de grĂ¢ce), occurs on the second Monday in October, as an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to establish Thanksgiving on the next-to-last Thursday in November, instead of the last one. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. Increasing profits and spending during this period, Roosevelt hoped, would help bring the country out of the Depression. At the time, advertising goods for Christmas before Thanksgiving was considered inappropriate. Fred Lazarus, Jr., founder of the Federated Department Stores (later Macy's), is credited with convincing Roosevelt to push Thanksgiving back a week to expand the shopping season (wiki).
But as Al says, commercially the Christmas season starts right after Halloween now.
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Dec 1, 2009 11:12:19 GMT
President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to establish Thanksgiving on the next-to-last Thursday in November, instead of the last one. Interesting. The date was set in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, who established it as a regular annual holiday. However, the first official Thanksgiving was proclaimed by George Washington, who set the date as October 3, in 1789. It was only celebrated occasionally after that according to Presidential whim. October 3 certainly is much closer to the actual end of harvest. Interestingly enough when Lincoln set the late November date he announced it on October 3! Some states started their own annual Thanksgiving observances in the 1800s, but the southern states at that time generally objected to National Thanksgivings, on the grounds that the festival was a celebration of Puritan intolerance. Roosevelt did succeed in changing the date while he was in office, but some people (and states) just chose to ignore the change. One state (Texas) celebrated two Thanksgivings a year during the Roosevelt presidency! --Paul--
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