Christmas Celebration

Christmas is a time of celebration, but it also tends to be a time of high-fat, high-calorie food. Make healthy entertaining and eating a big part of the family’s Christmas and year-end celebrations. Offer guests with healthy and nutritious food choices by planning the Christmas party menu and dishes carefully as well as buying and using fresh quality ingredients.

Healthy Christmas party tips

• Plan healthy Christmas party menu.
• Bring a nutritious dish to the festivities. Offer beforehand to provide a salad or vegetable side dish so you can be assured that there will be at least one healthy item at the meal.
• Fruit salads or platters – These are the healthiest desserts. Cut up water melon, rock melon, mango, strawberries, oranges, apples or any other fruits and mix them in a salad bowl or serve them on a plate.
• Serve lighter appetizers- Change your favorite recipes by substituting lower fat ingredients such as low-fat or fat-free yogurt and sour cream. Use fruits and vegetables with dips and spreads, instead of chips or crackers.
• Dippers – Savor the homemade, healthy dips using water crackers, organic corn chips and raw vegetable sticks such as celery, cucumber and carrot sticks.
• Low calorie: Eggnog, a notorious calorie culprit, packs about 343 calories into just a one-cup, alcohol-free serving. Substituting mostly egg whites or an egg substitute instead of whole eggs and fat-free milk instead of half-and-half can bring the festive drink back down to reasonable levels.
• Raw veggies – Crisp slices of jicama, combined with broccoli and cauliflower florets make a refreshing appetizer choice any time of year.
• Start well hydrated – drink plenty of water during the day and before the party to make sure you’re not thirsty when downing your first alcoholic drink. Try starting the party with a non-alcoholic drink such as water, mineral water, a diet soft drink or lime and soda to curb your thirst and slow down your alcohol intake.
• Offer non-alcoholic, low calorie drinks such as iced water, lime and diet soft drinks etc. Don’t start serving alcoholic drinks too early in the day. The earlier you start the more you will consume.
• As with your favorite foods, a little taste of the traditional Christmas beverages won't completely weaken a healthy diet. Balance these drinks with plenty of water.
• Don’t miss your usual exercise regime for a Christmas party ideas. This only doubles the impact – more calories consumed and fewer calories burnt.
• At the dinner table, eat more steamed vegetables and leaner cuts of meat, such as pork or beef tenderloin, instead of ham. In case of turkey, avoid the skin and choose white meat, which is leaner than dark meat.
• Turkey is by far the best choice for a healthy Christmas dinner, since goose and duck are much fattier. Roast your turkey on a rack so that it doesn't bathe in fat as it cooks.
• Make a gift basket creative. You can gift low calorie, low fat homemade cookies and other snacks, a lovely plant and garden tools.

Get Christmas celebration ideas, Christmas, recipes, tradition, gift ideas and more detail information to celebrate Christmas only hear at Food2GoodHealth .

Halloween Ideas: Food2GoodHealth

Halloween is an annual holiday observed on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.

It is that time of the year when the evil spirits roam on earth...its Halloween!! This festival marks the end of pleasant summers and the beginning of bitter cold. In ancient times people believed in evil spirits and witchcraft and thought that they get loose on Earth and roam about on the night before New Year in search of praise and victims. Thus, they painted their faces and wear terrible costumes to frighten away these ghosts and witches so that they would not harm them and their cattle and crops. Halloween is one of the more popular holidays for children.

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Up through the early twentieth century, the spelling "Hallowe'en" was frequently used, eliding the "v" and shortening the word. Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films.

History of Halloween:

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween. Masks and consumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.

Trick or Treat?

• Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as confectionery with the question, "Trick or treat?" The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters.
• Some trace the origins of present day "trick-or-treat" to Samhain, which was the supreme night of demonic jubilation. Spirits of the dead would rise out of their graves and wander the countryside, trying to return to the homes where they formerly lived. Frightened villagers tried to appease these wandering spirits by offering them gifts of fruit and nuts. They began the tradition of placing plates of the finest food and bits of treats that the household had to offer on their doorsteps, as gifts, to appease the hunger of the ghostly wanderers. If not placated, villagers feared that the spirits would kill their flocks or destroy their property.
• Others trace "trick-or-treat" to a European custom called "souling". Beggars would go from village to village begging for "soul cakes" made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers could guarantee a soul's passage to heaven.
• In many parts of Britain and Ireland this night used to be known as 'Mischief Night', which meant that people were free to go around the village playing pranks and getting up to any kind of mischief without fear of being punished. Many of the different customs were taken to the United States by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the nineteenth century, and they developed into 'trick or treat'.
• The history of Halloween has evolved. The activity is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe, and in the Saudi Aramco camps of Dhahran, Akaria compounds and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. The most significant growth — and resistance is in the United Kingdom, where the police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the "trick" element. In continental Europe, where the commerce-driven importation of Halloween is seen with more skepticism, numerous destructive or illegal "tricks" and police warnings have further raised suspicion about this game and Halloween in general.

Halloween treats:

Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts.

One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of a barmbrack, which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany.

List of foods associated with the holiday:

Barmbrack (Ireland), Bonfire toffee (Britain), Candy apples, Candy corn (North America),Caramel apples, Caramel corn, Colcannon (Ireland), Pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, Roasted pumpkin seeds, Roasted sweet corn, Soul cakes, Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc

Here are some quick and easy ideas for Halloween party food and drinks. You are sure to have unnerving party!!!!

• A fly in my drink! -- Freeze ice cubes with edible "insects" inside by filling a tray half full and freezing, then adding a gummy critter or a couple of raisins, fill the rest of the way with liquid and re-freeze.
• Fill a new plastic household glove with lemonade, limeade or other liquids to create an eerie floating hand in your punch bowl. Use heavy duty rubber bands to secure the top of the glove, leaving a little room for expansion. Use a small plastic dish to prop up the secured end of the glove in the freezer. Freeze until solid, peel away the glove and float the hand in the punchbowl.
• For realistic looking spooky eyes; see our recipe for Eyeball Cupcakes and Chocolate-Covered Cherry Mice recipe
• You can use a ring mold or bundt cake pan to freeze a creepy ice ring for you punch bowl. Fill 1/3 with liquid and freeze, arrange a layer of gummy worms on frozen ring, fill to 3/4 full and re-freeze. To un-mold, simply run hot water over ring for a second to two.
• Use plastic light sticks as swizzle sticks, it gives the drinks an eerie, mysterious glow.
• Make Halloween shaped tortilla chips by using cookies cutters to cut shapes out of tortillas, then deep fry until crisp. You can also make low fat tortilla chips by baking your cutouts in a 350° F oven. In either case, sprinkle with salt. Chips made of blue corn tortillas look especially spooky.

Tips for Halloween parties at home:

• If juice or cider is served to children at Halloween parties, make sure it is pasteurized or otherwise treated to destroy harmful bacteria. Juice or cider that has not been treated will say so on the label.
• No matter how tempting, don't taste raw cookie dough or cake batter.
• Before going "bobbing for apples," an all-time favorite Halloween game, reduce the number of bacteria that might be present on apples and other raw fruits and vegetables by thoroughly rinsing them under cool running water. As an added precaution, use a produce brush to remove surface dirt.
• "Scare" bacteria away by keeping all perishable foods chilled until serving time. These include, for example, finger sandwiches, cheese platters, fruit or tossed salads, cold pasta dishes with meat, poultry, or seafood, and cream pies or cakes with whipped-cream and cream-cheese frostings. Cold temperatures help keep most harmful bacteria from multiplying. And don't leave the food at room temperature for more than two-hours.
• Keep costume competitions.

Celebrating 4 July with Food2GoodHealth

Independence Day in the United States of America is annually celebrated on July 4 and is often known as "the Fourth of July". This day is traditionally celebrated with parades and carnivals, picnics and barbecues and, in the evening, with fantastic firework displays. The 4th of July celebrations in Washington, DC are among the most attended events of the year. There are plenty of activities scheduled throughout the day to keep the whole family busy.

Everyone celebrates this special day with terrific food, having fun with home and friends, and fireworks, which put the patriotic red, blue and light firmness for July 4th. For this special day, merchants showcase 4th July outfits featuring red, blue and light colors, and come with some fascinating features.

4th of July is a day of family celebrations with picnics and barbecues, showing a great deal of emphasis on the American tradition of political freedom. Activities associated with the day include watermelon or hotdog eating competitions and sporting events, such as baseball games, three-legged races, swimming activities and tug-of-war games.

Food2Goodhealth is also celebrating this event online. We have created a special festival page which has all about 4 July. We have all recipes collection including various barbeques, desserts and beverages for celebration. You will get Party tips, barbeque tips, cake decoration ideas, special kids menu, history and much more only at Food2Goodhealth. Below I have mentioned few thngs about these.

Food for celebration:

The Fourth of July has become synonymous with the barbecue, outdoor cooking, and summer fun. Sure, holidays are for celebrating and are meant to be enjoyed, but you don’t have to sacrifice your health every time you attend a BBQ.

Cooking healthy food for the Fourth of July means adding vitamins and minerals by serving vegetable and fruit based dishes. Healthy recipes include more fruit, vegetables and whole grains. We need to broaden our food ideas to make 4th of July barbecue party healthy and fun simultaneously.

Barbeque:

Barbeque is still the choice for many 4th of July picnics and parties; it is easy to prepare in advance, and there is minimal clean-up required. Hamburgers are another simple choice, but consider jazzing them up by mixing onion or garlic powder into the beef. A classier barbeque option is fun and festive kebabs. Use disposable wood or bamboo skewers to grill chunks of chicken, shrimp or beef. Steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce or BBQ sauce also adds a different flavor.

Instead of just burgers and hot dogs, some shrimp, crab or even lobster can be used, you can also add chicken, fish and steaks to the menu and all this can be cooked on the grill. Wooden kebab skewers make noshing on snacks easy. Skewer two-inch fruit pieces like melon, watermelon and pineapple. Make lots and spread them out on a red tray. Give guests some vegetables by roasting cherry tomatoes, squash and onions.

Before the party, pound and marinate chicken strips. Grill them on kebab sticks and serve them with tasty dips. Cube a variety of cheeses along with mini pickles and olives. Skewer them with American flag toothpicks. Surround your cubes with snack and wheat crackers.

Desserts:

A sheet cake decorated to look like the United States flag is often the first and easiest choice, but why not try something new for the party? Bake individual cupcakes and frost them in white. While leaving many plain, top some with strawberries and others with blueberries, than place them on a tray in the order of the colors of the flag. Your guests are sure to love them, and there are no eating utensils required.

A root-beer float is a delicious traditional treat for the Fourth. Serve strawberry and blueberry parfaits in plastic parfait cups. Offer guests homemade banana pops or pickle pops. Churned ice cream made with fresh peaches is a refreshing dessert. Before the guests arrive, scoop up ice cream into individual serving bowls. Let guests add toppings like cherries and whipped cream.

Decorate the dessert such as a cake in the shape of an American flag. For red stripes, go with strawberries in rows. For the stars, add enough blueberries to make them shine through. Frost the cake white and decorate. This is a great way to make a special treat.

Don’t forget the drinks. You can make various types of drinks special by just adding in flavored ice cubes, in blue and red. To make them, add strawberry and blueberry flavoring to the ice cube trays. Or, just use the right colored Koo-Aid to make it work. Drop them into drinks for a festive yet fun way to add to your food celebration.

Favorite American Desserts:
The month of July promises a regional variety of succulent fresh fruit. A national favorite is Strawberry shortcake speckled with blueberries for a traditional red, white and blue dessert. Fresh peaches are turned into pies and cobblers, and everyone knows that the Fourth of July wouldn’t be complete without a variation on the chocolate brownie.

These same regional fruits can be dropped and frozen into another American favorite, ice cream. No other holiday motivates moms and dads to drag out their homemade ice cream maker more than a sizzling Fourth of July.

The foods traditionally eaten on the Fourth of July can take all sorts of twists and turns into a delicious culinary experience.

Cold Beverages:

Cold beverages on Independence Day include fresh lemonade or iced tea from scratch. Every picnic cooler is filled with cold beer for elderly and soft drinks for the kids.

Kids Menu:

The 4th of July is a day when kids get out and celebrate with family and friends. What would a great Fourth of July celebration be without lots of delicious food? But sometimes kids get left out of the party because there's only grownup food around.

Keep it simple with foods. Kids love - hot dogs and hamburgers! Put some on the grill and have plates with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and chili sauce on them.  Make some baked beans, macaroni salad and potato salad as side dishes.

Set out containers of relish, mustard and ketchup. Have bowls of chips and pretzels out as snacks. Make some lemonade and iced tea for drinks. For dessert, make cookies with red frosting for half and blue frosting for the other half or make red and blue iced cupcakes with miniature flags stuck in the icing.

Bottom Line:

These are few ideas from Food2GoodHealth about 4^th July celebration. Still you can find more about history, kids menu for celebration and lot more things. Just visit here.

Celebrate Pentecost with Food2GoodHealth

Pentecost (Whitsunday) is a major festival in the Christian church. It is celebrated on the Sunday which falls on the 50th day after the Easter festival. It is also known as Whitsunday, or Whit Sunday. 

What Do People do:

In many parts of the world, Pentecost has become a traditional day for baptisms to take place. On this day, many people enjoy family gatherings, picnics, or outings to the country. Pentecost is called "the Green Holiday" in Poland. It is a time when people decorate their houses with green branches to bring blessings on the home and the people living in it. Whitsunday is linked to pagan spring rites, such as the English custom of Morris dancing and the drinking of “Whitsun ale”.

In the United States, Christians share their perspective about the meaning of Pentecost as well as how the diversity of languages and cultures can enhance their worship and fellowship with each another. Christians see Pentecost as an expansion of God's favor and care from Judaism to all peoples. Many churches celebrate Pentecost with a mass or worship service on this day. 

Public life:

Whitsunday is a public holiday in some places around the world, including countries in Europe such as Estonia and Finland. It is not a federal holiday in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Symbols:

The symbols of Pentecost are those of the Holy Spirit and include flames, wind, the breath of God and a dove. In Estonia and Finland eggs are dyed as at Easter because their hens don’t lay eggs until this time. In Germany the day is called “Pfingsten” and pink and red peonies, called “Whitsun roses”, are the symbols along with the birch trees. The English refer to the holiday as Whitsunday with reference to the white garments worn on Pentecost by the newly baptized.

Some churches lower a carved dove into the congregation and call this “swinging the Holy Ghost”. Cattle are decorated and an overdressed person is said to be “dressed like a Whitsun ox”. A holdover pagan game is called “hunting the green man”, a young man dressed in leaves and moss hides, and children hunt him.

The festival is often called Pentecost because when the disciples received the Holy Spirit and began to go out and preach about Jesus it was the Jewish festival of Pentecost.

Pentecost is recognized as the birth of the Christian Church. The Apostle Peter preached a sermon which resulted in 3,000 people becoming believers.

Customs and Traditions:

White Walks

Christians in some towns and cities have traditionally taken part in Whit Walks. Whitsun was the time for walks and processions. The traditional "Procession of Witness" has long been celebrated throughout the North West.

Bread and Cheese Throwing:
In Gloucestershire, Whit Sunday is often referred to as 'Bread and Cheese Day' because of a very strange custom that takes place on this day.

In St Braivels, Gloucestershire, following evensong on Whit Monday, basketfuls of bread and cheese are thrown from a wall near the old castle, to be scrambled for in a lane below. The locals of St Braivels have been hurling bread and cheese since the 13th century, when the custom began probably as a payment for the villagers' right to cut timber from a nearby wood.

Cheese Rolling:

Gloucester cheese Rolling:
After rolling three double Gloucester cheeses around the church, one is cut up and shared amongst bystanders and the other two are rolled down a steep hill.

Stilton Cheese Rolling:
Teams of four, in bizarre costumes, roll stilton cheese along a 50-yard course. They must not kick or throw the cheeses. The prize is a whole Stilton Cheese, which weighs about 16 pounds, and bottles of port—the traditional accompaniment.

Whitsunday Food Ideas!

Whitsunday can be celebrated with everyone- a get together with food.

In food typical meals of Jesus’ time can be involved with items like chickens, lamb, cheese, carrots, cucumber, nuts, peaches, apples, pears, etc. Sweet things can also be involved as well.

Alternatively you could have general party food. This might include crisps, sandwiches, cakes, carrot sticks, sausage rolls. Some of the things can also be included for example the carrot sticks and having cucumber in a salad, chicken drumsticks and tuna or cheese sandwiches or can even use flatbread instead of sandwiches. 

Cookies or biscuits could also be made for the party but fashioned to look more like flames and then decorated with red, yellow and orange icing.

This is all about Pentecost festival. Food2GoodHealth has created a beautiful page on Whitsunday. You can visit it for further details. 

Thanksgiving Day: Food2GoodHealth

As rightly said by Arthur Guiterman, the simple meaning of 'Thanksgiving' is the expression of gratitude directed towards the Almighty. God has created all of us and He has provided all the necessary things for our survival in this world. No matter how tough our life could be, but He is always there to take care of us and to give us all the good things. So we express our gratitude towards Him and thank him for the kindness and blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon us. To praise Him we verbally express admiration towards Him to honor and glorify His greatness with prayers and songs. At the heart of the celebration of Thanks Giving is the idea of giving thanks for the goodness of the season past.

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day in the United States started as a way of conveying thanks to food collected from a good harvest or problems that were fixed. It originated in 1621 and was a religious festival, but is now largely secular. It is now a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. This year (2011) it falls on 24th November.

It is traditional for families and groups of friends to get together for a large meal. This often consists of a turkey, stuffing, different types of potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and maize and other seasonal vegetables. The meal also often includes pumpkin pie. Many of these foods are native to the Americas and were not available in Europe at the time of the first settlers. This adds to their symbolism of giving thanks for a good harvest in a new country.

History:

Most stories state that the Thanksgiving history started with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. A three day celebration, in which the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast, was not a holiday but a simple gathering and is recognized today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. In the midst of the Civil war in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

In September 1620, 102 passengers including an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals tempted by the guarantee of promise and prosperity and land ownership in the New World boarded a small ship called the Mayflower from Plymouth, England.

The Pilgrims were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled from their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious discrimination. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became dissatisfied with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly.

So in view of seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

After their perfidious and uncomfortable voyage that lasted 66 days, they anchored near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their planned destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. After a month later, the Mayflower had crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

During the first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower.

The remaining settlers then moved ashore in March, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. Several days later, the Indian returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants.

After the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful that is in November 1621, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. This three day feast layed the foundation of the national holiday known as Thanksgiving!!

No historical records can be traced back to find the exact menu of the banquet, but Edward Winslow, a pilgrim chronicler wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians believe that the dishes for the feast were likely prepared using traditional Native American cooking methods and their spices and herbs. As the Mayflower’s sugar supply had diminished by the fall of 1621, the meal must have not featured pies, cakes, which have now become a characteristic of present day Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving Becomes an Official Holiday

The "Thanksgiving" feast was not observed in the year following 1621. The Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened the year’s harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of fasting and Thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as well.

It was not until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of 1676 the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine as how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By undisputed vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of Thanksgiving. However this celebration did not include the Indians, as the commemoration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives”.

In October of 1777, a hundred years later all 13 colonies joined in a Thanksgiving celebration. It also celebrated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was a dispute among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not deserve a national holiday. He called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of Thanksgiving.

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor; author, among countless other things, of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book.

Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”.

Thanksgiving Food:

Historical Menus

According to what traditionally is known as "The First Thanksgiving," the 1621 feast between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony contained turkey, waterfowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash.

The use of the turkey in the USA for Thanksgiving precedes Lincoln's nationalization of the holiday in 1863. Alexander Hamilton proclaimed that no "Citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day," and many of the Founding Fathers (particularly Benjamin Franklin) had high regard for the wild turkey as an American icon, but turkey was uncommon as Thanksgiving fare until after 1800. By 1857, turkey had become part of the traditional dinner in New England.

A Thanksgiving Day dinner served to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935 included: Pickles, green olives, celery, roast turkey, oyster stew, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, dressing, creamed asparagus tips, snowflake potatoes, baked carrots, hot rolls, fruit salad, mince meat pie, fruit cake, candies, grapes, apples, French drip coffee, cigars and cigarettes.

Non-traditional foods other than turkey are sometimes served as the main dish for a Thanksgiving dinner. Goose and duck, foods which were traditional European centerpieces of Christmas dinners before being displaced, are now sometimes served in place of the Thanksgiving turkey. The turducken, which is in fact three birds (turkey, duck and chicken) nested inside each other and cooked together; is also one of the favorite dish.

In a few areas along the West Coast, Dungeness crab is common as an alternate main dish, as crab season starts in early November. Similarly, Thanksgiving falls within deer hunting season in the Northeastern United States, which encourages the use of venison as a centerpiece. Sometimes a variant recipe for cooking turkey is used; for example, a Chinese recipe for goose could be used on the similarly-sized American bird. Vegetarians or vegans may try tofurkey, a tofu-based dish with imitation turkey flavor.

In Alaskan villages, whale meat is sometimes eaten. Irish immigrants have been known to have prime rib of beef as their centerpiece as beef was once a rarity back in Ireland; in the past, families would save up money for this as a special sign of newfound prosperity and hope.

Main dishes

Because turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving is sometimes colloquially called “turkey day.” Most Thanksgiving turkeys are stuffed with a bread-based stuffing and roasted. Sage is the traditional herb added to the stuffing (also called dressing), along with chopped celery, carrots, and onions. Deep-fried turkey is rising in popularity, requiring special fryers to hold the large bird, and reportedly leading to fires and bad burns for those who fail to take care when dealing with a large quantity of very hot oil.

Side dishes

Many other foods are alongside the main dish so many that, because of the amount of food, the Thanksgiving meal is sometimes served midday or early afternoon to make time for all the eating, and preparation may begin at dawn or on days prior.

Many Americans would say it is "incomplete" without cranberry sauce; stuffing or dressing; and gravy. Other commonly served dishes include winter squash; yams; mashed potatoes or rice (in the South and among Asians); dumplings; corn on the cob or hominy; deviled eggs; green beans or green bean casserole; sauerkraut (among those in the Mid-Atlantic; especially Baltimore), peas and carrots, bread rolls, cornbread (in the south and parts of New England), or biscuits, rutabagas or turnips; and a salad. For dessert, various pies are often served, particularly apple pie, mincemeat pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate meringue pie and pecan pie, with the last four being particularly American. In Québec, Tourtière is usually served alongside a traditional staple of Quebecois cuisine.

There are also non-traditional regional differences as to the stuffing or dressing traditionally served with the turkey. Southerners generally make their dressing from cornbread, while those in other parts of the country make stuffing from white or wheat bread as the base. One or several of the following may be added to the dressing/stuffing: oysters, apples, chestnuts, raisins, celery and/or other vegetables, sausages or the turkey's giblets. The traditional Canadian version has bread cubes, sage, onion and celery. Rice is also sometimes used instead of bread in Canada.

Other non-traditional dishes reflect the region or cultural background of those who have come together for the meal. For example, many African Americans and Southerners serve baked macaroni and cheese and greens, along with Chitterlings and sweet potato pie. while some Italian-Americans often have lasagna on the table and Ashkenazi Jews may serve noodle kugel, a sweet dessert pudding. It is not unheard of for Mexican Americans to serve their turkey with mole and roasted corn.

In Puerto Rico, the Thanksgiving meal is completed with arroz con gandules (Rice with pigeon peas), pumpkin flan, potato salad, roasted white sweet potatoes and Spanish sparkling hard cider. Cuban-Americans traditionally serve the Turkey alongside a small Roasted Pork and include White Rice and Black Beans or Kidney Beans. Vegetarians or vegans have been known to serve alternative entree centerpieces such as a large vegetable pie or a stuffed and baked pumpkin or tofurkey. Many Midwesterners (such as Minnesotans) of Norwegian or Scandinavian descent set the table with lefse and green bean hotdish.

Beverages

The beverages at Thanksgiving can vary as much as the side dishes, often depending on who is present at the table and their tastes. Spirits or cocktails occasionally may be served before the main meal. On the dinner table, unfermented Apple cider (still or sparkling) and/or wine are often served. For children non-alcoholic beverages are served at the table as it is generally frowned upon (and often illegal) for those below the legal drinking age to consume alcohol, though in some states it is legal for those under 21 to consume alcohol when their parents are present.

Pitchers of sweetened iced tea are common throughout the South, in some parts of French Canada it is tradition to serve watered down wine to younger attendees of the Thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving Symbols:

TURKEY

The celebration of Thanksgiving will be incomplete without the legendary Turkey. The Turkey derives its name from the 'Turk Turk' sounds it makes when scared. The famous 'Turkey' adorns the table of every household as a main course during the celebration. The customary dinner is a reminder of the 'Four Wild Turkeys' served at the 'First Thanksgiving Feast'. The festivity completes with the customary 'Turkey Song'

CORNUCOPIA

Cornucopia, also known as the 'horn of plenty' is the most common symbol of a harvest festival. A Horn shaped container, it is filled with abundance of harvest. The traditional cornucopia was a curved goat's horn filled to brim with fruits and grains. According to Greek legend, Amalthea (a goat) broke one of her horns and offered it to Greek God Zeus as a sign of reverence. As a sign of gratitude, Zeus later set the goat's image in the sky also known as constellation Capricorn

CORN

One of the most popular symbols of Thanksgiving is the Corn. With its varieties of colors it makes for a very interesting symbol. Some Americans considered blue and white corn to be sacred. It is believed that Native Americans had been growing corn a long time before the pilgrims arrived in their country.

The Americans taught pilgrims how to grow corn and help them survive the bitter winter. The Corn eventually became a part of the first Thanksgiving dinner and the tradition continues till date where the corn finds its place on every dinner table the world over and especially during the Thanksgiving dinner. Ornamental Corncobs are a favorite with the masses during the festival. Ornamental popcorns are also widely used. Corn reminds us of the importance and heritage of the famous harvest festival.

PUMPKIN

The 'Pumpkin pie' is another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table. It is customary. Pumpkin leaves were also used as salads. According to historians, the pumpkin is one of the important symbols of the harvest festival and has been an All American-favorite for over 400 years now.

BEANS

Beans are a special symbol of Thanksgiving. Native Americans are believed to have taught the pilgrims to grow beans next to cornstalks. So that beans could grow and use cornstalks as their pole. Thus American beans are also known as 'Pole Beans'. Famously known as one of the 'Three sisters', beans are a part of Thanksgiving feast.

CRANBERRY

Cranberry, originally called crane berry, has derived its name from its pink blossoms and drooping head which reminded the pilgrim of a crane. It is a symbol and a modern diet staple of Thanksgiving.

Healthy Sleep For Healthy Life!

If we try to guess which activity is so important for us that we devote almost one-third of our time for it, probably the first things that come to our mind are working, spending time with our family, or pursuing leisure activities. But we don’t realize that there’s something else we should be doing about one-third of our time ie. Sleeping !

We should know that there are two basic types of sleep, ie. REM sleep and non-REM sleep, because our brain stays active throughout sleep, and each stage of sleep is linked to a distinctive pattern of electrical activity known as brain waves.

Now let’s look at the importance of sleep. If we decide to go on fast and we don’t eat anything for a week, then we would probably feel hungry, little thinner and maybe weak. But if we deprive ourself of a sleep for seven days, we won’t be able to function at all. That's why Amnesty International lists sleep deprivation as a form of torture.

We should get enough sleep because: 

Agood night’s sleep is required to form new learning and memory pathways in the brain, and to work up those to speed.

Enough sleep helps us to feel better, and to manage emotions better and in positive way  

it makes us to work with more focus and attention.

Sleep gives our heart and vascular system a much-needed rest.

Deep sleep triggers more release of growth hormone, which fuels growth in children and boosts muscle mass and the repair of cells and tissues in children and adults 

It ultimately leads to healthy and long life! 
 

Sleep quantity and Quality -  are they important?

Scientists have looked at how much people sleep when unrestricted, the average amount of sleep among various age groups, and the amount of sleep that studies reveal is necessary to function at our best. They say that optimum amount of sleep needed is about 7–8 hours for adults and 9 or more hours for school-aged children and adolescents. Following table gives time of sleep for various age groups:

Age	Hours
Newborns (0-2 months)	12 - 18
Infants (3 months to 1 year)	14 - 15
Toddlers (1 to 3 years)	12 - 14
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years)	11 - 13
School-aged children (5 to 12 years)	10 - 11
Teens and preteens (12 to 18 years)	8.5 - 10
Adults (18+)	7.5 - 9

The hormonal influences of puberty tend to shift adolescents’ biological clocks. As a result, teenagers are more likely to go to bed later than younger children and adults, and so want to sleep later in the morning. Have you ever wondered, why children can sleep through loud noises and might not wake up when they are moved from the car to their beds? It is just the amount of time spent in the deep sleep stages which is more for children than adults. And as they age, time spent in deep sleep decreases.

NIH study suggests that healthy older people may require about 1.5 hours less sleep than younger adults, an average of 7.5 hours per night. Seniors sleep less maybe because of age-related changes in the ability to fall asleep and remain asleep.

Quality of sleep is as important as quantity. People whose sleep is frequently interrupted or cut short may not get enough of both non-REM sleep and REM sleep. Both types of sleep appear to be crucial for learning and memory and perhaps for all the other restorative benefits of healthy sleep, including the growth and repair of cells.

Many of us try to make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. But if you have lost too much sleep, sleeping in on the weekend does not completely erase your sleep debt.

Another important thing to consider for qualitative sleep is complete sleep at night. When we find ourself getting dozy, lazy, or staring at the computer screen at work in the afternoon, we probably think of napping, isn’t it? Though some evidence shows that short naps (up to an hour) can make up, at least partially, for the sleep missed on the previous night and improve alertness, mood, and work performance, naps don’t substitute for a good night’s sleep. One study found that a daytime nap after a lack of sleep at night did not fully restore levels of blood sugar to the pattern seen with adequate nighttime sleep. If a nap lasts longer than 1 hour, you may have a hard time waking up fully. In addition, late afternoon naps can make falling asleep at night more difficult.

Sleep for kids :

Some kids sleep fine and there is no need for intervention. But you should keep in mind that sleep through the childhood and teen years changes greatly. Some kind of nightly routine is important for your kids sleep. A bedtime ritual makes it easier for your child to relax, fall asleep and sleep through the night. Falling asleep is a passive process which we cannot force, all we can do it put ourselves in the right state of mind and right environment for it to happen "to" us or for sleep to "come" to us. And parents are the one who can create right environment and right state of mind for their kid.


Helpful tips:

• Create right sleep environment for your babies like a quite dark room, a soft crib to lie on, a favorite blanket or teddy bear, the singing of the mom (or dad), sucking on a thumb.
• For small children, reading or stories in bed is perfect.
• Make bedtime a positive experience without arguments or crying and relaxing experience without TV or videos.
• Be sure that there is a time to “get ready for bed.”
• Reading, praying, talking gently about the day, or any kind of “down time” is best.
• Avoid TV, computer, ear phones and music as part of the immediate pre-sleep routine.
• Encourage children to fall asleep on their own and discourage nighttime awakenings

Seniors and sleep :

For seniors, a good night’s sleep is especially important because it helps improve concentration and memory formation, allows your body to repair any cell damage that occurred during the day, and refreshes your immune system, which in turn helps to prevent disease.
Older adults who don’t sleep well are more likely to suffer from depression, attention and memory problems, and excessive daytime sleepiness. They’re also likely to suffer more nighttime falls, have increased sensitivity to pain, and use more prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids. Insufficient sleep can also lead to many serious health problems in older adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight problems, and breast cancer in women.

Sleep tips for seniors:

• Understand how sleep changes as you age
• Find out why you can’t sleep well Improve sleep habits
• Use diet and exercise to improve sleep
• Reduce mental stress to improve sleep
• Tai chi, a traditional Chinese exercise, can help older people sleep when it is practiced regularly.

Sleep and weight loss :

Researchers at Harvard University examined how various lifestyle habits affected weight over an extended period of time. Their findings suggests the weight-control benefits of a full 6-8 hours of nightly sleep: Adults who slept fewer than 6 hours per night or more than 8 hours per night gained more weight than those whose nightly sleep fell within the recommended 6-8 hour range.

We already know that sleep has an effect on our eating habits—on what we consume, how much we consume, and how well we burn it off.  Studies have shown that when we’re sleep deprived, we’re more likely to :

• Feel hungry, and consume more calories throughout a day
• Eat higher fat and calorie foods
• Burn calories less effectively

When we’re sleep deprived, we’re also just more likely to give in to temptation. We’ve simply got more time to choose to eat, and our judgment and willpower will be weaker when we’re tired meaning we’re more likely to reach for the cookie jar than the fruit bowl.

Establishing good sleep habits can really help you reach and maintain a healthy weight over the long term giving you that waistline you want, and protecting your overall health.

A lack of sleep will cause…


A number of sleep disorders can disrupt your sleep quality and leave you with excessive daytime sleepiness, even if enough time was spent in bed to be well rested. More than 70 sleep disorders affect at least 40 million Americans and account for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year, not counting costs due to lost work time and other factors. The four most common sleep disorders are insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (sleep-disordered breathing), restless legs syndrome (RLS), and narcolepsy. Additional sleep problems include sleep walking, sleep paralysis, night terrors, and other "parasomnias" that cause abnormal arousals.

A lack of sleep will quickly cause irritability, grogginess, the inability to make decisions or follow through with cognitive functions. It will cause hallucinations, dozing off during activities and even throughout the day, etc. A continued lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain, anxiety, depression, lethargy and fatigue. Sleeplessness, namely “insomnia” is the second most common complaint in society after ache. This disease causes a loss of approximately 100 million dollars resulting as medical expenditure, loss of accident, absenteeism and decrease in production. A chronic, or pathological, sleep disorder will often result in an immune system deficiency. Severe sleep deprivation can ultimately lead to death. These inevitabilities clearly show the importance of sleep.


Simple tips to follow for healthier sleep pattern:

• Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to altered sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won't fully make up for the lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning.
• Exercise is great but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but not later than 5 or 6 hours before your bedtime.
• Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine, and its effects can take as long as 8 hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal.
• Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. You may think having an alcoholic "nightcap" will help you sleep, but alcohol robs you of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off.
• Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. A light snack is okay, but a large meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.
• If possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor or pharmacist to see if any drugs you're taking might be contributing to your insomnia.
• Don't take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
• Relax before bed. Don't overschedule your day so that no time is left for unwinding. A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of your bedtime ritual.
• Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so you're more ready to sleep.
• Have a good sleeping environment. Get rid of anything that might distract you from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm temperatures. You sleep better if the temperature in your bedroom is kept on the cool side. A TV or computer in the bedroom can be a distraction and deprive you of needed sleep. Having a comfortable mattress and pillow can help promote a good night's sleep.
• Have the right sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep patterns. Try to get outside in natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes each day. If possible, wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sleep experts recommend that, if you have problems falling asleep, you should get an hour of exposure to morning sunlight.
• Don't lie in bed awake. If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
• Try to limit night shift work if you are doing. If that is not possible use bright lights in your workplace, Minimize your shift changes, Get rid of sound and light distractions during your daytime sleep, Use caffeine only during the first part of your shift to promote alertness at night.
• See a doctor if you continue to have trouble sleeping. If you consistently find yourself feeling tired or not well rested during the day despite spending enough time in bed at night, you may have a sleep disorder. Your family doctor or a sleep specialist should be able to help you.

Some interesting sleep myths :

• Sleep is a time when your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation.

No evidence shows that any major organ (including the brain) or regulatory system in the body shuts down during sleep. Some physiological processes actually become more active while you sleep. eg. secretion of certain hormones is boosted, and activity of the pathways in the brain needed for learning and memory is heightened.

• Getting just 1 hour less sleep per night than needed will not have any effect on your daytime functioning.

This lack of sleep may not make you noticeably sleepy during the day. But even slightly less sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly, and it can compromise your cardiovascular health and energy balance as well as the ability to fight infections, particularly if lack of sleep continues. If you consistently do not get enough sleep, eventually a sleep debt builds up that will make you excessively tired during the day.

• Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules.

Your biological clock makes you most alert during the daytime and most drowsy at night. Thus, even if you work the night shift, you will naturally feel sleepy when nighttime comes. Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues—and even then, by 1–2 hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust to a dramatically altered sleep/wake cycle, such as you encounter when traveling across several time zones or switching from working the day shift to the night shift. 

• Snoring is a normal part of sleep. 

Snoring during sleep is common, particularly as a person gets older. Evidence is growing that snoring on a regular basis can make you sleepy during the day and more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease. In addition, some studies link frequent snoring to problem behavior and poorer school achievement in children. Loud, frequent snoring can also be a sign of sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder that should be treated. 

• People need less sleep as they get older. 

Older people don’t need less sleep, but they often get less sleep or find their sleep less refreshing. That’s because as people age, they spend less time in the deep, restful stages of sleep and are more easily awakened. Older people are also more likely to have insomnia or other medical conditions that disrupt their sleep.

Always remember that better sleep will truly lead to a better life , in every possible way!