Sunday, November 27, 2005
In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.
William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years.
In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.
ORHHHH.... yuan lai shi zhe yang de....
I have alot to give thanks for actually. I offer thanks to my parents who work so hard to provide for the family so that we can have choices. I offer thanks to my sisters and friends who are my pillars of support. I offer thanks to TPS (who went to college with Ruoxi) cos she invited me to her Aunt's house for the holiday. I offer thanks to Gu (TPS calls her Gu, I just follow haha) and her family who have so generously opened her beautiful home (and FRIDGE. ha!) to lonely and hungry Singaporeans in the US. (btw we ate so much we had to lie down and rest haha...I think I'll have to hit the gym more. sighhhh but oh well, it was worth it). I offer thanks to the unsung heroes who made e Thanksgiving holiday a reality. That includes the airport staff/cab drivers/retail sales pple who have forsaken their own family gatherings to make ours possible. Most of all, I am thankful that I am healthy and alive and being able to enjoy today. =)
* 3 weeks till Winter break!!!!!!!!!*