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Thanksgiving
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THANKSGIVING

From another perspective, it can be seen that the ancient origins of Thanksgiving stem from the tradition of harvest festivals stretching back long before early European colonists reached the New World...

A harvest festival honoring Min, god of vegetation and fertility, was celebrated by ancient Egyptians.,,Ancient Greeks gave thanks to Demeter, goddess of fertility and harvest. Romans honored the goddess of agriculture, Ceres (from which the word cereal is derived) and another festival was held to honor gods of grain....Ancient Celtic peoples had robust harvest festivals , and these traditions have continued for thousands of years. In Jewish tradition, the holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Booths) is observed in the fall in which special meals are eaten from a booth, hut, or sukkah, in thanks for the protection and care of god.
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From another perspective, it can be seen that the ancient origins of Thanksgiving stem from the tradition of harvest festivals stretching back long before early European colonists reached the New World... A harvest festival honoring Min, god of vegetation and fertility, was celebrated by ancient Egyptians.,,Ancient Greeks gave thanks to Demeter, goddess of fertility and harvest. Romans honored the goddess of agriculture, Ceres (from which the word cereal is derived) and another festival was held to honor gods of grain....Ancient Celtic peoples had robust harvest festivals , and these traditions have continued for thousands of years. In Jewish tradition, the holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Booths) is observed in the fall in which special meals are eaten from a booth, hut, or sukkah, in thanks for the protection and care of god.
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2021 occurs on Thursday, November 25. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.[2] It is sometimes called American Thanksgiving (outside the United States) to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions. It originated as a harvest festival, and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remains Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie. Other Thanksgiving customs include charitable organizations offering Thanksgiving dinner for the poor, attending religious services, watching parades, and viewing football games.[1] In American culture Thanksgiving is regarded as the beginning of the fall–winter holiday season, which includes Christmas and the New Year.
Native American people who first encountered the “pilgrims” at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts play a major role in the imagination of American people today. Contemporary celebrations of the Thanksgiving holiday focus on the idea that the “first Thanksgiving” was a friendly gathering of two disparate groups—or even neighbors—who shared a meal and lived harmoniously. In actuality, the assembly of these people had much more to do with political alliances, diplomacy, and an effort at rarely achieved, temporary peaceful coexistence. Although Native American people have always given thanks for the world around them, the Thanksgiving celebrated today is more a combination of Puritan religious practices and the European festival called Harvest Home, which then grew to encompass Native foods.
Most of what we know about early American settlers comes from the journal of William Bradford, the first governor of Plymouth, Massachusetts. He notes that in 1620, the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock, where they established a colony and began farming. The following year, they had a bountiful harvest and decided to give thanks for the food with a three-day celebration. Historical records show that there was indeed a meeting between the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag tribe at this time. But the Native Americans weren’t honored guests. They likely weren’t even invited.
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