Gary Gray
When people hear the word Thanksgiving, they instantly think of another word: FOOD!
The Thanksgiving holiday is full of traditions, the most prominent being its magnificent feasts.
On the fourth Thursday in November across the United States, families and friends join together. On occasion, one by one, they begin to state what they are thankful for. After everyone is finished, they proceed to reminisce, laugh and eat!
All families are different when it comes to cooking Thanksgiving dinner. They put their own spices here and their signature desserts there.
But there is one dish that has not changed over the years turkey. Millions of families, the majority, still enjoy ‘the bird’ on Thanksgiving hence the nickname ‘Turkey Day.’
An assortment of side dishes joins the meats. Popular ones include corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, peas, green beans and mashed potatoes. The dessert of choice is usually pie; pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie are nationwide favorites.
What would a holiday be without decorations? Houses are decorated with an array of fall colors. One Thanksgiving decoration is the horn of plenty, or cornucopia, a symbol of abundance and wealth often filled with vegetables, fruit and small pumpkins.
Thanksgiving is a time to dress like a pilgrim or to go to Thanksgiving parties or fairs. Fairs often feature a petting zoo or a pumpkin decorating contest.
The real pilgrims celebrated what is traditionally thought of as the first Thanksgiving in 1621 when Gov. William Bradford of the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts declared a day of thanksgiving to celebrate the completion of the harvest.
In 1789, George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation. At first, each state celebrated Thanksgiving in its own way, each appointing it own day.
All that changed on Oct. 3, 1863, when Abraham Lincoln chose the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. It was changed again in 1939 by Franklin D. Roosevelt to the third Thursday in November. Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress changed it again two years later to the fourth Thursday in November, which still stands today.
Is Thanksgiving just √¨the holiday before Christmas’? Is it just an excuse to eat until your pants give you stretch marks? Or is it a chance to be truly thankful?
W.J. Cameron once said, “Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.”