Thanksgiving Date 2009 November 26th

As usual, in the USA Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November,
this year that would be the 26th (and not the 19th).

• 2010 – Thursday, November 25th
• 2011 – Thursday, November 24th
• 2012 – Thursday, November 22nd
• 2013 – Thursday, November 28th

The Turkey's Lament

When I was a young
turkey, new to the coop,
My big brother Jim took me out on the stoop,

Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,
And he told me there was
something that I had to know;

His look and his tone I will always remember,
When he told me of the
horrors of ..... Black November;

Come about August, now listen to me,
Each day you'll be thick, where
once you were thin,
And you'll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin.

And then one morning, when you're warm in your bed,
In'll burst the
farmer's wife, and hack off your head;

Then she'll pluck out all your feathers so you're bald'n pink,
And
scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin' in the sink,

And then comes the worst part, he said not bluffing,
She'll spread
your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing.

Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,
I sat on the
stoop like a winged piece of meat,

And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,
I'd have to lay
low and remain overlooked;

I began a new diet of nuts and granola,
High-roughage salads, juice
and diet cola,

And as they ate pastries, chocolates and crepes,
I stayed in my room
doing Jane Fonda tapes,

I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
And tried not to
notice when the bigger birds laughed;

But 'twas I who was laughing, under my breath,
As they chomped and
they chewed, ever closer to death;

And sure enough when Black November rolled around,
I was the last
turkey left in the entire compound;

So now I'm a pet in the farmer's wife's lap;
I haven't a worry, so I
eat and I nap,

She held me today, while sewing and humming,
And smiled at me and
said, Christmas is coming......................

Author unknown

Abraham Lincoln Sets
November Thanksgiving Day

There are three themes to Thanksgiving Day traditions, the family turkey
meal, parading and giving thanks.  Sarah Hale, a magazine editor,
campaigned tirelessly for a national Thanksgiving day.  Hale wrote in Godey's
Lady's
Book, eventually Sarah's
idea caught the president's
eye and in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the idea of November Thanksgiving,
to be precise, that last Thursday in November
would be
a national day of Thanksgiving.  In 2008, Thanksgiving day falls on November 27th,
in 2009 it will be on November 26th.

In Canada they set Thanksgiving Day on the second
Monday in
October.  Here it was Martin Frobisher who in Newfoundland first gave thanks for surviving his explorations in 1578.  Other countries who celebrate Thanksgiving include Argentina and Brazil.
Japan has a national holiday on 23rd November to celebrate Labour / Thanksgiving day.

New York Thanksgiving Tradition

In New York City there are lots of engaging Thanksgiving traditions.
For example, a lot of New Yorkers don't buy the frozen Thanksgiving turkey.
They prefer to buy the bird live and then push it in front of a subway
train.  David Letterman

Getting Betrothed at Thanksgiving

A strange Thanksgiving Tradition in the Chinese areas of San Francisco is
for engaged couples to buy a lock and key, then chain the lock to the Golden
Gate bridge and throw away the key.

Thanksgiving Superstitions

• Before putting the turkey in the oven, knock 3 times on a wooden
  board and the meat will taste succulent.
• Pulling the wishbone.  The person with the longer end will have
  their wish come true.
• If you eat a child's turkey leftovers then it will make a boy
  naughty and a girl cry.
• Contrary to popular opinion, turkey at Thanksgiving was not
  invented by the "Farmers' Market".  Of course, it was William
  Bradford and his 'History Of Plymouth Plantation' that established the
  tradition of turkey at Thanksgiving.

Macy's November
Thanksgiving Traditions

Children love Macy's November Thanksgiving
Day parade through Manhattan, New York.  I wonder how many people have attended at least one parade since its inception in 1924*?

One constant theme of Macy's parade is characters made of balloons, indeed we
muse in the 1930's did Walt Disney make Macy's parade, or did Macy's parade make
Disney?

Some say Macy's parade did not start until 1927, the argument centers
over the naming of the 1924 version, 'Macy's Christmas Day Parade', the
confusion arises because it was held at Thanksgiving.

Old timers say they used to release balloons with prizes for those who found the balloon.  Many think it would be great if Macy's resurrected the tradition.

Amongst other cities, Detroit is at the forefront of celebrations.  Since 1924 they have their own parade down Woodward avenue.  Also their NFL team, the Detroit Lions always play a game on Thanksgiving, a tradition that goes back to 1934.

November Thanksgiving - A Truly American Story

Looking back approaching 400 years one can see why those first Pilgrims
had a lot to be thankful for.  Their boat, the Mayflower, made it
across the Atlantic Ocean.  We can only ponder how many perished in
similar boats before their success.  And indeed we can think of all
those boats which have been lost with all hands since.  The Pilgrims
who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 can be grateful that Iroquois Native
Americans were not more numerous and more belligerent.

The
Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower were members of the English Separatist
Church (a Puritan sect).  They fled from persecution in England and took
the opportunity of a better life in America.  Puritans negotiated with a
London stock company to finance the pilgrimage to America.  However, 2/3 of
those aboard the Mayflower were not Separatists, they just went along for the
adventure and the opportunity.

That first winter on 1620 was severe and by the fall of 1621 almost half of the
original 102 settlers had died of hardship.  However, the vegetables were new to the Pilgrims and they needed help from the Iroquois Indians to grow crops such as maize and pumpkins.  Thanks to
the skill of native Indians like Squanto, and good fortune, the harvest of 1621 was bountiful.

Governor William Bradford famously sent 'four men fowling'. They returned with deer, wild ducks
and geese. While they probably did not have turkey as we know it, the Pilgrims coined the word 'turkey'
as a generic term for any wild fowl. The resulting feast was more like an English harvest festival than a
true Thanksgiving observance.
See more pictures of the Pilgrim fathers

Thanksgiving: A Prayer

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the
night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything
Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson [1803-1882]

See
more November Thanksgiving Traditions