HAPPY THANKSGIVING

History of Thanksgiving

As per history.com, in September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth England, carrying 102 passengers seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and others lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the “New World.” A month later, the Mayflower crossed the Massachusetts Bay where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly called began establishing a village in Plymouth. Through out that first brutal winter most of the colonists suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease and only half of the original Mayflower’s passengers lived to see their first New England spring.

One day the Pilgrims received a visit from a member of the Abenaki tribe, and days later returned with another Native American who taught them how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. In November 1621 after the Pilgrim’s first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast with the Pilgrims and Native American where it is now remembered as America’s “first Thanksgiving”.

Now, Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States and celebrated on the last Thursday of November.

Thanksgiving Symbols

Cornucopia

The cornucopia is an ancient symbol with origins in mythology. It comes from the Latin word cornu (horn) and copia (abundance). It is also called the horn of plenty and a symbol of abundance. In one mythology, the cornucopia was created when Heracles (Roman Hercules) wrestled with the river god Achelous and ripped off one of his horns.

In today’s depictions, the cornucopia is a hollow, horn shaped wicker basket filled with fruits, vegetables and flowers. It has become to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest, as the first thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims and Native Americans was a harvest celebration. It is now a popular Thanksgiving decoration and symbol.

Pumpkins

Pumpkins are one of the most resilient fruit, grow large and bulging on sparse soil. It is perhaps for this reason that pumpkins have symbolized prosperity, growth and abundance and became one of the symbols of Thanksgiving. Pumpkins are also considered a symbol of the life giving sun. Pumpkin pies are the official desert of Thanksgiving.

The Color Orange

The rich color of orange represents fall’s harvest (color of pumpkin). It also brings to mind feelings of changes or new beginnings.

Incorporating the color orange in our wall and window decorations, in these no sew valance curtains. Long yards of fabric looped over the curtain rod to form the scalloped valance.

Turkey

In the “first Thanksgiving”, for meat, the Wampanoag brought deer and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl” which could have been turkeys and which were native to the area. This could be one of the reasons why turkey became the centerpiece of the feast table. Also, the bird is plentiful and is almost always available for slaughter and a single turkey is usually big enough to feed a family.

Getting the turkey ready for the dinner: The meat

The Stuffing

After 5 hours of preparation and roasting, the centerpiece is finally ready.

The feast table is all set up. Our family celebrating and giving thanks for all the bounties and blessings!

Each and every one of us have reasons to celebrate and give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow Hivers!