Recently I went out to find some Thanksgiving decorations like the one above which you can purchase here. Do you remember these from childhood? So fun for kids to fan them out. I went to the store (this was before Halloween) and could find no Thanksgiving decorations. In fact, at Target, the Halloween merchandise had been moved to make room for Christmas.
Thanksgiving has become an excuse for a Day After sale in our society. But it's much more, and if we were to look at our history we might see its' significance. Thanksgiving is one of the dates that we can point back to our very shaky beginnings as a country. The first feast lasted three days and there was no pumpkin pie. Native American foods figured largely into the feast, as many of the staples the Pilgrims traveled with were long depleted. The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of life as well as a growing friendship between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims survive those early days. This is important history to remind each other, and to teach the children we know. Our country was built on sacrifice and a determination to not only survive, but build a new country.
History.com has a good overview of the history of Thanksgiving. I don't post this without thought on Veteran's Day, because the same heroism and determination that settled our country is demonstrated every day by those who serve in the military.
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