The year has turned its circle, The seasons come and go. The harvest all is gathered in And chilly north winds blow. Orchards have shared their treasures, The fields, their yellow grain, So open wide the doorway, Thanksgiving comes again. The 4 th Thursday of November

The 4 th Thursday of November

Thanksgiving Day in America is celebrated with lot of fervor and euphoria on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. For the people in the United States, Thanksgiving is a time for intense feelings of happiness, excitement, love, gratitude, and expressions of those feelings with people they love. It is also a time for shopping, family reunion, feasts and family dinners. People also take time to thank God for His constant grace and for all the material possessions man enjoys. For many, Thanksgiving is also the time to thank near and dear ones and being grateful for their kindness. Thanksgiving Cele is a time for communal thanksgiving, feeling gratitude and having lavish feasts. It is a time to remember the pilgrims. The 4 th Thursday of November

This is how Thanksgiving began The first Thanksgiving celebration in America is basically the story of the Pilgrims and their thankful community feast at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth England on a crowded ship called the Mayflower on September 6, 1620.

After over 66 days of travel across the Atlantic Ocean they landed on the rocky shores of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims first winter in the new land was very hard. They lived in dirt-covered homes, there was a shortage of food, and almost half of them died. In the Spring the Pilgrims tried to plant the wheat that they brought with them, but it would not grow in the rocky soil. They did not know how to survive in this New Land – They needed help! The Pilgrims were dedicated Christians. They believed in praying to God, especially in times of desperate need. I am sure that it was God who sent the two friendly, English speaking Wampanoag (Wam pa NO ag) Indians named Squanto (SKWAN toe), and Samoset.

They were hunting along the beach of Plymouth when they discovered the new settlers. They became friends, and Squanto and Samoset stayed with the Pilgrims for a few months teaching them how to survive in the new land. They taught them how to hunt, how to cultivate corn and other new vegetables, how to sap maple trees, dig and cook clams, and many other skills. By the fall of 1621 the Pilgrims were doing much better. They were in better health, the corn had grown well, and there was enough food to last through the winter. It was their religious custom to celebrate a Feast of the Ingathering of the Harvest in November. So they decided to celebrate a Thanksgiving Feast to Thank God for their good fortune. The Pilgrim leader, Captain Miles Standish invited Squanto, Samoset, Massasit (the Wampanoag leader), and their families to join them for the Thanksgiving Feast.

The Pilgrims were very surprised when these three Indians brought over 90 relatives. They had not prepared enough food for that many people! Massasoit gave orders for his men to get more food. They came back with 5 deer, fish, duck, beans, squash, berries and maybe even Turkey. There was SO MUCH food that Governor Bradford declared a three day feast. The third year was real bad. Corn crops were damaged. Governor William Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and God soon sent rain. After the bountyful harvest crops were gathered in November 1623, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a Thanksgiving Celebration.

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Thanksgiving Day in America is celebrated with lot of fervor and euphoria on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. For the people in the United States, Thanksgiving is a time for intense feelings of happiness, excitement, love, gratitude, and expressions of those feelings with people they love. It is also a time for shopping, family reunion, feasts and family dinners. People also take time to thank God for His constant grace and for all the material possessions man enjoys. For many, Thanksgiving is also the time to thank near and dear ones and being grateful for their kindness. Thanksgiving Celeis a time for communal thanksgiving, feeling gratitude and having lavish feasts. It is a time to remember the pilgrims.

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the USA on the fourth Thursday in November. The first Thanksgiving was a feast shared by the Pilgrims (who had recently settled Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts) and the Wampanoag Indians. They ate corn, pumpkin and wild turkeys. This feast was not repeated until more than ten years later. Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims left Plymouth (England) for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They were 110 men, women and children. The voyage took 65 days. and when they arrived, the Pilgrims were afraid of the local Native American Indians. The Patuxets were a peaceful group and did not do anything bad to them. The first winter was very hard for the Pilgrims: of the 110 Pilgrims who left England, only 50 survived. But on March 16, 1621, an Indian walked into the settlement. His name was Samoset. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto, who could speak English and taught the Pilgrims how to plant Indian corn. The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims had enough food for the winter. It was time to celebrate. Nowadays, Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, of family reunions and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, pumpkin pie and Indian corn. A time of holiday parades, football games on TV and giant balloons. Nevertheless, in recent years members of the Wampanoag tribe, who believe the United States has betrayed the promises made to their ancestors, commemorate Thanksgiving as a fast day.

Popcorn Eat corn!

"I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country: he is a Bird of bad moral character: like those among Men who live by Sharping and Robbing, he is generally poor and very often lousy. The Turkey is a much more respectable Bird and withal a true original Native of North America" Benjamin Franklin «Бенжамин Франклин единственны й президент Соединенных Штатов Америки, который им никогда не был» Benjamin Franklin was not only one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a leading writer, publisher, inventor, diplomat, scientist, and philosopher. Why not a turkey?

Another symbol of the modern Thanksgiving dinner is the pumpkin pie. The pumpkin is one of the most important symbols of the harvest festival and is an American favorite.

The Cornucopia s a symbol of nature's productivity. It is the "horn of plenty" and is the most common symbol of a harvest festival. It is a horn-shaped container or basket that is filled with the abundance of a harvest. The traditional cornucopia was a curved goat's horn. According to Roman mythology, the cornucopia was the horn of Achelous, the river god. The horn was broken off in a fight with Hercules. It was believed that Achelous came in the form of a bull. The water nymphs then filled the horn with flowers and fruit to offer it to the goddess of plenty, called Copia.

Cranberries are a kind of berry. Its name originated from crane berry because of its pink blossoms and drooping head which reminded the Pilgrims of the crane. The Pilgrims found out how to sweeten the bitter cranberries with maple sugar. The cranberry sauce was and is still used as a compabion of turkey during Thanksgiving dinner.

Who does not thank for little, will not thank for much. For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends. Thanks…

Our Father in Heaven, We give thanks for the pleasure Of gathering together for this occasion. We give thanks for this food Prepared by loving hands. We give thanks for life, The freedom to enjoy it all And all other blessings. As we partake of this food, We pray for health and strength To carry on and try to live as You would have us. This we ask in the name of Christ, Our Heavenly Father.

For the hay and the corn and wheat that is reaped, For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped, For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb, For the rose and the song, and the harvest brought home Thanksgiving! For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land, for the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand, For the good that our artists and poets have taught, For the friendship that hope and affection have brought Thanksgiving! For the homes that with purest affection are blest, For the season of plenty and well deserved rest, for our country extending from sea to sea, The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" Lets Be Thankful !

May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize, and may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!