MindBender

I realize there are a lot of non-americans here and that we have very little to be thankful these days...

but to me, it makes things that we do have to be thankful for all that much more precious...

So, to all the good folks that make this such a great community...hell, family. Happy Thanksgiving.

-N8 [righton]

theKeeper

Same to you Mb. [honesty]

And thanks, i agree. [righton]

C9Mouse

I am thankful for the continued health and well being of my parents, for my job (thanks Lord), for new friends, a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and this great community known as PSG -

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Karma

C9Mouse, very well said

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope you are blessed with what you truly need today.

nitrobutler

Happy Thanksgiving one and all.

Sunsprite

I wish you all the best this holiday season, whatever your tradition....as for the "Thanksgiving" celebration here in the U.S. and it's origin, I thought this was interesting information (I used to live in St. Augustine, FL)....

The historians at Plymouth Plantation don't say that the event in 1621 was the first Thanksgiving. In fact, that feast was a harvest celebration. The word "thanksgiving" isn't mentioned in any of the historic documents.

They will admit that the 1621 event has created the cultural mythology of what Thanksgiving has come to mean today.

If the definition of Thanksgiving is to mean the coming together of settlers and native people to share in food, the Pilgrims were 56 years too late to make the claim of being the first, according to Michael Gannon, a retired history professor from the University of Florida. In his 1965 book, The Cross in the Sand, he documented an event in 1565 that happened in St. Augustine as the first Thanksgiving.

Upon landing in Florida, Pedro Menendez de Aviles called for a Thanksgiving Mass and a celebratory meal. The native Seloy people were invited to join in.

They probably ate salted pork and garbanzo beans and red wine. There is no record what, if anything, the Seloy may have provided, Gannon said.

And even this event wasn't the first celebration of thanks in the new world by Europeans. Gannon said every group would have had some sort of event to give thanks for a safe voyage.

"The St. Augustine event is the first such ceremony in the first permanent settlement in North America. It is the first where we find the native people sharing a meal with the European visitors," Gannon explained.

So, if this is the case, why do the Pilgrims get all the credit?

"The Spanish settlers have been slighted by history for centuries," Gannon said. 'The reason is not hard to find. The English won out over Spain and France for control of the North American continent.

"It's the English customs, ceremonies and anniversaries as well as laws that come to dominate the mindset of the American people."

--------
---Maya

Nikkie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone !!! [righton] [righton]

Thanks for the info Maya, actually i was wondering where this tradition was coming from [righton]

Nikkie

MindBender

Well, the whole mythos about the "indians and pilgrims sitting down to dinner" is rediculous. In fact, the entire relationship between the Native Americans and the European settlers isn't something I'd even like to think about.

I think the reason for the holiday really becomes a way to focus on the things in your life and the lives of those around you that are good. Stop focusing on the bad for just one night, we have 364 other days for that. For me, the people and knowledge of this community is one of the few good things in my life and I'm sincerely thankful for that.

Plus, I love turkey dinner. :}

C9Mouse

Just wanted to share this with all of you - a tidbit from my past:

In the 6th grade I was taken to the principal's office for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance in class. The principal called my Dad and he came down and the teacher told my Dad I had refused to say the pledge.

He asked me why I had refused, and I told him I wasn't proud to be an Indian killer or a buffalo slayer.

The teacher and the principal turned white as ghosts, but my Dad only grinned and looked at both of them.

"My son is entitled to his own opinion," he said, and then he patted me on the head and walked out.



I share this little picture from my past to emphasize who I am today. I do not take with the common crowd or follow fads or agree with "American" thinking. I think President Bush has done a horrible job as our President, and I wouldn't have minded seeing the Indians kick our ass off this continent way back when .....

Other than that, I think of Thanksgiving as a time to take stock of what it is we should be thankful for. Are we alive? Do you have two arms and two legs? Can you walk, talk, speak, see?

Whenever you start thinking you have it bad, always remember, there's always someone else out there worse off than you.

Be thankful for what you have ........

ljiljana

[size=18px]Happy Thanksgiving ![/size]


Nitro You didn`t... [size=7px]is that a Big bird on the table?[/size] [shocked]