 | Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday that brings people together from all backgrounds and creeds. To many this celebration is about spending time with family and enjoying fellowship during a feast. To many it is also about giving thanks.
Unlike modern times, did you know that the first Thanksgiving did not focus on giving thanks? This article presents a few tips for creating a slightly different theme for your holiday meal based upon the original theme of the first Thanksgiving.
Unless you’ve done a little research on the subject of Thanksgiving, you may not be aware of how it all started. When the Pilgrims and the Native Americans celebrated the first Thanksgiving in the Virginia settlement, they were celebrating the harvest of crops after a long, farming season. Similar customs also existed in other societies long before the Pilgrims came to America.
A good harvest signified that there would be plenty of food to tide everyone over for the winter. A more abundant harvest would mean fatter bellies during the cold months. The harvest feast is also a time to reflect on the difficult hours invested in planting, cultivating, and harvesting the year’s crops.
If you want to create a great holiday, you can still serve up the traditional fixings. A new take on the celebration is to make a list of all of the things that the family has accomplished over the year. You can add the harvest motif to your table with simple decorations like bowls of fruit and vegetables, pumpkins, squashes, leaves, and hay. You can even buy the little Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers for the dining room table.
Although your family may not have spent the year toiling in the fields, this Thanksgiving celebrate their hard work and the blessings that resulted from those efforts. In addition, you can reflect on good thoughts, blessings, and things for which everyone is grateful. Make it a true harvest feast this year, a symbol of a great year that is almost over.
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