Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Tomorrow in the United States, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, but many people make a four day weekend of it.  Some even start a day early and take off Wednesday as well. I have to work today, but I've been thinking about the holiday already.  The Thanksgiving tradition celebrates a feast provided by Native Americans to early American settlers to help them through the rough winter.
These days, the holiday is usually celebrated with a large meal, shared with family, on Thursday (often featuring a turkey). Many people start their Christmas shopping on Friday, and stores open early (anywhere from midnight to 4 am) for "Black Friday" sales (so named because the amount of shopping is said to help the store's sales enough to turn their annual profits from the "red" into the "black.") There's a lot of American football on television.
I love the modern parts of Thanksgiving which emphasize sharing a meal with family and friends. And I love the traditional part of Thanksgiving which emphasizes the idea of community sharing. I'll be enjoying some family time this long weekend and so will be away from my blog.  But, in the spirit of sharing, I'll be leaving reposts of tutorials I've done.  I hope you enjoy them.  I'd also love it if people would a favorite Thanksgiving memory in comments (or, for those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, a favorite memory of community sharing).
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12 comments:

  1. MelissaNovember 23, 2011 at 7:37 AM

    I have so many wonderful Thanksgiving memories, all of which revolve around family & laughter & food & football & games & puzzles - so many things to be thankful for each year!

    I've got a pecan pie in the oven right now, sweet potatoes boiling on the stove top, cornbread cooling on the counter & eggs already boiled for our meal tomorrow.

    Happy Thanksgiving Rinda!!!

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  2. AlisonNovember 23, 2011 at 7:58 AM

    We don't have Thanksgiving(though I wish we did), but my greatest memory(and lesson) of sharing is when we were growing up...my mum would invite all those we knew who would be spending Christmas alone, to have Christmas dinner with us....it made for hectic Christmases but wonderful memories..thanks for bringing them to mind Rinda, and Happy Thanksgiving for tomorrow!
    Alison x

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  3. SianNovember 23, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    I think we should bring Thanksgiving here.

    Hope you and the family have a great one

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  4. AnonymousNovember 23, 2011 at 9:43 AM

    hope you have a great weekend ... one of my fave Thanksgiving memories is at my grandma's house, my two cousins, brother and i would explore the woods behind her house while the parents made dinner ... we were explorers in a new world or indians looking for settlers (we were not very PC as kids) ... sadly those woods are now covered with condos and my kid never got to explore back there, but those young family memories are wonderful.

    Mariana in CA

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  5. UnknownNovember 23, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    Hope you and your family have a lovely Thanksgiving!

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  6. AnonymousNovember 23, 2011 at 12:11 PM

    Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. We celebrated ours last month (earlier harvest season,:) ) It's may not be my favourite memory but definitely the funniest - we were at my niece's and her stove quit. Try & get a repairman on Thanksgiving. They were in luck as they were house watching for friends who were away for the weekend and her husband rushed the turkey down to their place (2 blocks away) to cook it there. The looks he got as he rushed down the city street were quite something and even more so when he brought it back.

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  7. scrappyjackyNovember 23, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    We don't have Thanksgiving....but I'm looking forward to all the community events for the Queen's Jubilee next year....we may well have a street party in our road.

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  8. AmyNovember 23, 2011 at 6:22 PM

    Happy Thanksgiving :-)

    We have had a recent experience of wonderful community sharing and helping. A little boy in TEYO's class has a very sick Mum and all the Mums across the year level have been cooking for their family. For each of us it was a small thing, for their family it has meant there is one thing they don't have to worry about each night - it is a humbling experience to know that people care and are generous with their time.

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  9. nancy yNovember 23, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    Enjoy your family this weekend! We will be having the traditional meal on Friday since that is when my daughter and her boyfriend can make it up here to be with us - so starts the "fractured holidays" as my husband calls it!

    I think last year's Thanksgiving was a special one for our family. We were invited to a huge family gathering on my husband's paternal side of the family. There were all ages 90- infants. We met many cousins we had never met and reconnected with others. It was a great melting pot of people and foods. We made mashed potatoes for 50 people, and that is another story!

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  10. IreneNovember 23, 2011 at 10:30 PM

    I have many wonderful Thanksgiving memories growing up in a large mexican family. Dad was always in the kitchen helping mom cook the turkey. One year he added wine to the cornbread dressing. It was the best dressing ever.

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  11. AnonymousNovember 24, 2011 at 12:41 PM

    I have always loved Thanksgiving and the chance to reflect on my many blessings. Growing up it was usually spent with my mother's side of the family which was a large crowd. No different now with Tracy's family which totals nearly 20 (or more) for most holidays. This Thanksgiving will be the smallest one we've had in many years, but wonderful because it's with Sarah and Adam in their new home in Oregon. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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  12. ComfyMom~StaceyNovember 26, 2011 at 6:36 AM

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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