OT: Thanksgiving Greetings

[Draigh]

Hey everybody, just wanted to wish all of us Americans a Happy Thanksgiving.  And to those of you who aren't American... HAPPY THURSDAY!!!

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[Thanaeon]

Okay, I think I could finally ask this...

What's the deal with Thanksgiving? I mean, what is its significance, why is it celebrated?

Just something that I've been wondering every now and then.

[Sneaky Git]

Okay, I think I could finally ask this...

What's the deal with Thanksgiving? I mean, what is its significance, why is it celebrated?

Just something that I've been wondering every now and then.

Well, at a very basic level, it's a harvest festival.  And many agricultural cultures have some form of harvest festival.  Thanksgiving (currently the 4th Thursday in November) took on special(?) significance for the early English colonists because the winter of 1620-1621 (or 1621-1622...I forget) was particularly harsh and they felt they had beaten the odds and were really grateful.

There was an attempt to intitutionalize it during the American War for Independence (late 1770s), but was not officially adopted until the early to mid nineteenth century (New York was the first in 1817).  Abraham Lincoln was the first American President to declare a national day of thanksgiving (1863), a trend that has been followed by every President since.

As for the average American...I can't say.  For me, it's a time to celebrate health and family.  It's a time to sit back and be grateful for what you have.  Oh, and it's considerably less stressful than the silly season (Christmas).

It's also a time when many Americans remember to help those who are less fortunate than themselves.


Chris
Happy Holidays!

[Draigh]

Well said Git.

Yeah, for the most part it's just an excuse for everybody to get together and hang out and eat like pigs.

[Thanaeon]

Okay, thanks. A very good explanation, and much appreciated.

[kenjib]

We also often refer to the Pilgrims (puritan refugees fleeing persecution in England) and claim that Thanksgiving is tied to a feast that occurred between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.  I'm not sure if it's all myth or not.  That's perhaps why the traditional fare at Thanksgiving dinner (dinner is what Thanksgiving revolves around) consists of all New World foods - potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, cranberries, pumpkin, etc...

The Pilgrims played a massive part in shaping the future of American culture in several different areas of both our culture and politics, which is so vastly different from the histories of Central & South America.  They were some of the first settlers in the New World and really set the tone.