Thanks to most people means the family and friends and Turkey, or maybe beer and football. Many do not know or even care about significence holidays. Back in 1600 a group of people who were members of the English Separatist Church (Puritan’s) in England, fled from their land to escape religious persecution. He boarded a ship and sailed to Holland in the Netherlands. In Holland the people enjoyed a short period of time free from religious persecution they faced back in England, but soon became frustrated with the morals of the Dutch peoples bad and what they considered sinful lifestyle.
You still need a better way of life, the Separatists made a deal with a limited liability company in London to finance a trip to America on a ship called Mayflower. There were others in England who were not separatists, in fact most that has made the trip on the Mayflower were not.
The group arrived in America December 11, 1620 and began to land in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The winter season’s first meeting with pilgrims in the United States has been horrible. With the extreme cold and snowstorms, which lost 46 of the 102 originals that came with the Mayflower. But the spring and summer of next year has been wonderful with pleasant days and Nice, and most pilgrims stay healthy. The local Indians showed them how and where to hunt and trap for the game available, and shared their secrets in the cultivation and conservation of native cultures. The harvest of 1621 was very generous and pilgrims along with the local Indians, who had helped them survive their first year, decided to have a big party to celebrate and give thanks.
The party or as commonly called “The First Thanksgiving took place probably outdoor tables and benches handmade, most people sat on blankets on the floor while eating, because the settlers are not aware that I have a building large enough to accommodate everyone.
In an original letter from a member of the colony, Edward Winslow, here is the real account of the first celebration of Thanksgiving:
“Our harvest was obtained, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we can rejoice together after a special way, after harvesting the fruits of our work. The four deaths in one day the chicken over, and with little help beside, served the company almost a week. at which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and include mostly king Massasoit, with some ninety men, during entertaining and held three days, and went out and killed five deer, which led to the planting and as our governor and the captain and others. And although not always as abundant as it was this time with us, but God’s goodness We are so far from the need we often share our fate. ”
In a handwritten letter can be seen that an Indian chief or the king and 90 (total 91 from India) who were invited as guests attended the event along with the pilgrims, and the feast or celebration lasted three days. The celebration or feast was not repeated until 1623, when during a severe drought all people gathered and prayed for rain. The next day, a steady rain was long and Bradford proclaimed another day the Governor of Thanksgiving, and again the pilgrims or “settlers invited their Indian friends to celebrate.
The next Thanksgiving celebration did not occur until 1676, when the Governing Council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting on the best way to celebrate and give thanks for the good fortune of their community had experienced. By voting, they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of Thanksgiving.
Other dates that were important for the feast of Thanksgiving was in October 1777, when there was a Thanksgiving feast was celebrated by the 13 colonies had established. In 1789, George Washington proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving, and after a campaign of letter writing to the presidents and governors in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as National Day of Thanksgiving. The date was changed a few times, but finally in 1941 was approved by Congress as a holiday, the fourth Thursday of November, where it remains today.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful party we should all celebrate, and there is a screen saver through free download available at this web address:
http://www. rb59. com / thank you screen saver
Robert W. Benjamin
Copyright © 2006
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Tags: Holiday, Thanksgiving, Understanding