Give me the end of the year an’ its fun
When most of the plannin’ an’ toilin’ is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin’ with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An’ I’ll put soul in my Thanksgivin’ prayers. – Edgar A. Guest
Today in the United States is Thanksgiving Day. Like so many other modern holidays, it has its roots in ancient pagan traditions, specifically English harvest celebrations such as Harvest Home; it became popular throughout English North America in the 17th century, though generally celebrated two or three weeks earlier in Canada than in the 13 colonies due to the earlier onset of winter. By the late 19th century it was fixed on November 6th in Canada and the last Thursday in November in the US, but both countries later tweaked the dates: in 1941 the US declared it the 4th (not necessarily last) Thursday in November, and in 1957 Canada moved it to the second Monday in October so as not to conflict with Remembrance Day. Because it comes so much earlier, I always forget to wish my Canadian readers a Happy Thanksgiving; however, I’ve just realized it will always coincide with the official US observance of Columbus Day, so that should provide a mnemonic by which I can remember it next year. Though I don’t observe Columbus Day or other “official” holidays divorced from tradition, I need to keep track of such things to keep myself from having to drive the 3 kilometers to the mailbox or the 30 kilometers to town on days when the post office and banks are closed!
Thanksgiving is the exact opposite, a traditional holiday celebrated for centuries in one form or another before being made “official”; it therefore gets my stamp of approval, and as most of you read this I will be either busy cooking up a feast or preparing to do so. Then tomorrow we’ll go out into the woods to find our Christmas tree, decorate it, and feast again in the evening on yummy leftovers. As is my custom, I urge my American readers to remember what this feast is supposed to mean rather than reducing it to an excuse for gluttony, and to stay home tonight and tomorrow rather than joining the vulgar mob at some “big box” store’s “Black Friday” sale. Or as I said last year, “celebrate this day…with those you love, giving thanks for what you have rather than just stuffing your face and planning to buy more tomorrow.” And though today is not a recognized holiday for my readers outside the US, I wish all of you peace, prosperity and good fortune as well. Blessed Be!
Happy Thanksgiving, Maggie!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, dear Maggie, and thanks a million for all you do and mean.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving.
I must point out that the puritans, honored in America, aren’t seen so positively in the UK. There, mostly they are seen as repressive religious nuts, the type that supported Cromwell in the civil war, and England was glad to see them sail off to America.
Tell me about it! I pointed out once that the Puritans were people virtually nobody now would want at dinner!
As a resident of MA, I constantly blame puritans for all their terrible laws. Why no alcohol on Sunday? Puritans. Why does everything close at 8? Puritans. And that’s just the icing of the whole, nasty cake.
Puritans were evil, tyrannical bigots. I usually pretend the pilgrims were not puritans at all, just the happy go lucky proto atheists who survived the trials of the mayflower crossing so they could have a turkey party with American Indians I remember from elementary school.
I finally remembered where the quote was:
A 3km drive to the mailbox? In the UK, the Post Office is legally required to deliver to your front door, no matter how inaccessible it is, if it means getting out the rowing boat…
Have an enjoyable Thanksgiving!
A lot of the differences between the US and UK derive from the fact that the US is so physically enormous; if postmen here had to deliver to the most remote domiciles, the cost would be prohibitive. That 3km distance is where the next houses are, and I’m not the only residence in the county this remote. Multiply that by hundreds of similarly-rural counties, and that’s nothing compared to some in states like Montana and Alaska.
We have a similar system here in Nova Scotia, which was certainly controversial (to some) when implemented. Some addresses just aren’t practical for daily doorstop deliveries.
I’ve tried to get Europeans to understand this for years. If you start out in Paris and drive EAST 1,800 miles – you’re in Moscow.
Start out in Los Angeles and drive EAST for that same distance and you won’t even reach St. Louis, MO.
Americans aren’t the only ones who have a geo-isolationist view of the world. Europeans think that everything that works for Europe can work here – it’s just not the case.
Also – HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Maggie! And thanks for all the great writing (not to mention RT’s, links, comments, etc.).
3 kilometers to your mail box? 30 klicks to town? curious to know why use that instead of miles? (not critical. curious, for so many things metric is the way to go)
It’s ’cause she reads science fiction. 😉
I too have had those discussions with my British relatives, as to how huge the USA, Canada and Mexico are, geographically. I remember when I first came here, I was somehow under the impression that I could just take a train from Ohio to California in a day.
There are two reasons you can’t just take a train from Ohio to California in a day:
1) the USA is frikkin’ HUGE!* and
2) our trains are frikkin’ SLOW! Yeah, I know: even a Shinkansen or TGV won’t take you from sea to shining sea in a day, but it took me three and a half hours to travel from Ft. Worth, TX to Norman, OK on AMTRAK. That’s with no red lights, traffic, and only three or so stops along the way. Driving would’ve taken thirty to ninety minutes longer, depending on traffic.
This is because supposed conservatives who believe that government is always the problem and never the solution won’t allocate the funds to build a modern rail system in this country, and supposed liberals who have yet to grow a pair won’t let AMTRAK just die.
* but not as huge as Africa, which is bigger than Europe and the USA put together.
Before 1941 it was the 3rd Thursday in November. I’m not sure how long before that it may have been the last.
But I agree with Jefferson, who vetoed a Thanksgiving holiday bill because he didn’t think the government had any business setting a national day of prayer.
Sorry to be so humorless – I’m alone and today it hurts, even though most of the years I was able to visit family, I was always glad when it was over: I have way too little in common with those people to feel I belong in their family, and some of them I could only be around for a brief time before the arguments would start. Somehow I expect others here are in the same boat.
Happy ThanksGiving Maggie! Myself, I am thankful for the many fine articles by you and others that I’ve been exposed to in recent months. Also please forgive my use of Turkey Day 🙂 I’d grown the habit of using it to distinguish American Thanksgiving to from ours in Canada.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your mister, Maggie! Oh, and to the feline member of the family as well. 🙂
You know, I’ve never really been comfortable with the notion that you must be (some what arbitrarily) thankful on thanksgiving. In my family, it has always been more of a food only Christmas- everyone ‘gives’ a dish or 2 two the feast, and we celebrate the bounty together. The holiday would not be the save without both the give and take, without the large gathering of people.
It actually really bugs me when people obsess over the ‘You must be thankful’ bull. The day, in my mind, will be neither Arbitrary Thankfulness Day nor Turkey Day’ but, Family Feast Day
Each year, I make a dish, usually a pie, that nobody else makes. Past Thanksgivings have included marshmallow pie, lemonade pie, and butter pie.
Butter pie?
The butter wouldn’t melt so I put it in the pie.
This year I made a pie almost everybody had heard of, but none of them had ever eaten: shoo fly pie. Lots of molasses.
I’m thankful I have people in at least two states I can share things like this with. Now I’m back and watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the DVR. So I guess I’m thankful to be living in this modern day when even a relatively poor guy can enjoy that sort of affluence and technical access.
And of course, I’m thankful one of the consequences of such technical access: the friendship of people I never would’ve met in meatspace. People like Maggie. Here’s hoping your holiday was a great one.