So what do we really know about Thanksgiving???
Did it start with the Pilgrims? NO
Did it start with the Native Americans? NO
Was it always about turkey? Ya know.... NO
So lets just get a look at it in North America and see if there is anything we can learn!
....
Macy's Day Parade...
Charlie Brown and Snoopy...
Football..
Yes I believe we have found the meaning of Thanksgiving.... No not really!
I found some good stuff on the worldpress blog that I think helps...
Sara Josepha Hale campaigned to make it a holiday to unify the nation in a single celebration of the holiday. Apparently it was quite inconsistent and celebrated in different ways at different times.
President Lincoln liked the idea and in an effort to heal a nations wounds after a bitter civil war made it a national holiday for the last Thursday in November. That was in 1863!
The holiday got moved to the 4th Thursday of the month. WHY? Well there was a big depression that needed a stimulus package... SO... Then President President Roosevelt decided to move it up to kick off the Holiday season in hopes of Stimulating shopping to help the economy. Hense the beginning of Black Friday!
I am not sure that was a great idea... Perhaps instead of calling it Black Friday, we should refer to the day as to the creator of it "Roosevelt Day". That could be another reason for Hallmark to create a card or two.
So....
We have found through the research of others and informatin from the Worldpress that the roots of the thanksgiving tradition are secular, spanning cultures, continents and millennia. The holiday’s foundation is as a harvest festival, celebrated in ancient times by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and by Native Americans for thousands of years before the Mayflower arrived. In fact, the Pilgrims’ own feast was non-religious, aside from saying grace, due to their puritanical rejection of public religious displays.
I believe that the True Meaning of Thanksgiving is simple. THANK YOU! Friends, Families, Associates, Cats, Dogs, Fish, and Turkeys! THANK YOU for the Journey, the Love and the Friendship! Have a happy day no matter what the day means to you!
