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.
