Thanksgiving day is America. A day for family and friends to gather 'round the table. We are celebrating the harvest, that was the original intent. We were to give thanks for the harvest, the bounty of the land that would sustain us through the winter. And who were we giving thanks too? God, the Christian God primarily. It took a lot of prayers to remain in this new world, a lot of faith. The conditions were harsh to say the least. But it was an opportunity. There was land to be had, money to be made. Only 38 people out of 104 survived the first winter. Yes, it was a time to be Thankful.
The holiday, like all others, has changed in meaning over the years. Now it's more of a prelude to black Friday than anything else. Even that is changing however as black Friday stretches' into a month or more. Cyber Monday has been added as well. Most of us still think about Pilgrims and Indians, the whole John Smith and Pocahontas story. Even that history has undergone changes being written and rewritten according to political sensibilities. The Turkey has become the star of the show although we are fairly certain no Turkey was served at that first feast. There are only two first hand accounts of that day that we know of. It's not important though. The intent is what matters. And the intent was to give thanks. To acknowledge God and thank God for his mercies, and whatever mercies the native Americans showed.
Thanksgiving will always be the Macys' parade and a big dinner to me. Yes when I was young it was Pilgrims. I was taught we invited the Indians to dinner, that's true although only the Chief was invited but due to do the language barrier the whole tribe showed up. Well, at least a significant number of warriors did. Anyway, they stayed for a few days, eating, playing games and even having some war exercises. Mutual defense was important to the Pilgrims and the natives, there were enemies about. We only celebrate one day, a Thursday. The last Thursday in November was chosen by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 as the day. He got that date from George Washingtons' date. In 1789 George Washington had declared Thursday Nov 26, the last Thursday in November, a day of Thanksgiving to celebrate the forming of a new nation and the constitution. It remained as the last Thursday in November, regardless of the date, until 1939. It was during the great depression that retailers complained to FDR about that. In 1939 the last Thursday in November was going to be on the 30th. The complaint was, not enough shopping days between then and Christmas! FDR agreed and set the observance for November 23. This caused a lot of confusion and people complained. It was proven that the shopping hadn't really changed, the same amount took place. The next year 1940 FDR announces Thanksgiving will be on the second to last Thursday. People still weren't happy. So in 1941 Congress set the date as the last Thursday in November regardless of the actual date! So, yes Thanksgiving had been manipulated for commercial reasons. Really the same reason the Pilgrims came here in the first place. It could be a profitable enterprise.
And that is how we wound up celebrating Thanksgiving the last Thursday in November. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Let us feast and tomorrow we shop! LOL. For me, as a child, Thanksgiving also meant the arrival of Santa Claus. At the end of that famous parade there he was in all his glory. I've often wondered about children in other parts of the country. When I was little we had television, black and white, two channels. Being on the eastern end of Long Island we received broadcasts from Connecticut. That's because those signals could easily travel across Long Island sound. So we did see the Macys' parade. Did children, say in the mid-west or south of us see that parade on television ? If not, when did they first see Santa? I mean everyone knows the real Santa was in the Macys' parade. Yes, he went to New York City! That was expected, seemed reasonable enough. I mean, where else would he go? They even made a movie about that. The miracle of 42nd street, everyone knows that.
The holiday, like all others, has changed in meaning over the years. Now it's more of a prelude to black Friday than anything else. Even that is changing however as black Friday stretches' into a month or more. Cyber Monday has been added as well. Most of us still think about Pilgrims and Indians, the whole John Smith and Pocahontas story. Even that history has undergone changes being written and rewritten according to political sensibilities. The Turkey has become the star of the show although we are fairly certain no Turkey was served at that first feast. There are only two first hand accounts of that day that we know of. It's not important though. The intent is what matters. And the intent was to give thanks. To acknowledge God and thank God for his mercies, and whatever mercies the native Americans showed.
Thanksgiving will always be the Macys' parade and a big dinner to me. Yes when I was young it was Pilgrims. I was taught we invited the Indians to dinner, that's true although only the Chief was invited but due to do the language barrier the whole tribe showed up. Well, at least a significant number of warriors did. Anyway, they stayed for a few days, eating, playing games and even having some war exercises. Mutual defense was important to the Pilgrims and the natives, there were enemies about. We only celebrate one day, a Thursday. The last Thursday in November was chosen by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 as the day. He got that date from George Washingtons' date. In 1789 George Washington had declared Thursday Nov 26, the last Thursday in November, a day of Thanksgiving to celebrate the forming of a new nation and the constitution. It remained as the last Thursday in November, regardless of the date, until 1939. It was during the great depression that retailers complained to FDR about that. In 1939 the last Thursday in November was going to be on the 30th. The complaint was, not enough shopping days between then and Christmas! FDR agreed and set the observance for November 23. This caused a lot of confusion and people complained. It was proven that the shopping hadn't really changed, the same amount took place. The next year 1940 FDR announces Thanksgiving will be on the second to last Thursday. People still weren't happy. So in 1941 Congress set the date as the last Thursday in November regardless of the actual date! So, yes Thanksgiving had been manipulated for commercial reasons. Really the same reason the Pilgrims came here in the first place. It could be a profitable enterprise.
And that is how we wound up celebrating Thanksgiving the last Thursday in November. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Let us feast and tomorrow we shop! LOL. For me, as a child, Thanksgiving also meant the arrival of Santa Claus. At the end of that famous parade there he was in all his glory. I've often wondered about children in other parts of the country. When I was little we had television, black and white, two channels. Being on the eastern end of Long Island we received broadcasts from Connecticut. That's because those signals could easily travel across Long Island sound. So we did see the Macys' parade. Did children, say in the mid-west or south of us see that parade on television ? If not, when did they first see Santa? I mean everyone knows the real Santa was in the Macys' parade. Yes, he went to New York City! That was expected, seemed reasonable enough. I mean, where else would he go? They even made a movie about that. The miracle of 42nd street, everyone knows that.
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