It is that time of year when the holidays come alive with the flavors and savoring scents of Thanksgiving. It is a time when families come together in thankfulness for all they have and for each other. Special feasts are planned throughout the nation to honor the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving.
HISTORY:
Looking back to the actual United States of America Thanksgiving Proclamations written and read by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, you would think it might sound more like a church service outlining the holiday rather than the official proclaiming of a national holiday. Check out the proclamations in their entirety for an interesting piece of history to read with the family.
“Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many single favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Excerpt from George Washington, Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1795 by George Washington. Read it all at http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanxProc1789.htm
“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” Abraham Lincoln
(Excerpt from a proclamation from the President of the United States, Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863) Read it all at http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends (and often TV) and plans for shopping, too.
TV TRADITIONS
Football and Thanksgiving just go together for many families in the United States. Professional games are traditionally held on Thanksgiving Day.
Fond memories remain of the smell of turkey cooking and the beautiful floats on TV Thanksgiving morning. Treasured by many as a signal of an old fashioned holiday to come is the televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Check your local listings for this nostalgic event.
SHOPPING BLACK FRIDAY
The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday because of the heavy shopping traffic on that day. The term ‘Black Friday’ comes from the fact that many stores reach sales figures that take them out of the red and (hopefully) keep them in the black for the rest of the fiscal year. According to Wikipedia, Black Friday has been considered to be the start of the Christmas shopping season since at least the 1930s.
