Thanksgiving Day

Today, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Higgins, who live a few houses away from us. It gives us an opportunity to experience first hand how an American family celebrate Thanksgiving.

To the Americans, it is as big as the Chinese New Year (CNY) is to the Chinese. What I like about Thanksgiving is its focus on the home and family, similar to CNY. Most people will return to their hometown for the Thanksgiving dinner, which is equivalent to our reunion dinner on CNY eve. The star of the meal is, of course, the turkey.

Thanksgiving originates back to the Pilgrims, a small group of Protestant dissenters who had been persecuted by the Anglicans and sailed for the New World on their ship (the Mayflower). Beset by cold, hunger, and disease, only half the group lived through the first winter. However, under the leadership of William Bradford and with the help of friendly Indians, the colony farmed, fished, and survived. In the fall of 1623, the Pilgrims held a celebration to give thanks to God for His bounty and blessings. The governor's announcement has been preserved in the annals of American history.

TO ALL YE PILGRIMS,

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corns, wheat, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience; now, I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th of the year of our Lord 1623, and the third year since ye Pilgrims handed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

- William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, 1623.

Above is a photo of the turkey we bought. Weighing about 12 lbs, it only cost us US$ 3! Yes, no typo error here. Three dollars! Each shopper who spent more than $25 dollars on their groceries is allowed to buy a turkey at 25 cents/lb!. The usual price is 99 cents/lb. Well, the turkey above has been thawed, marinated and is ready for roasting tomorrow. According to the recipe, it will take 4-5 hours. We have invited a fellow Singaporean to join us for dinner.

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Application: Thanksgiving is a good time to count our blessings. Genuine gratitude to God for His mercy, His abundance, His protection, His smile of favor. Sincere appreciation to our "neighbors" for their love and support, for both the fun and hard time we've went through together, and simply, for their friendship and kindredship. And finally, a humble consideration for those who have nots! To share the blessings and spread a little love. I agree with Swindoll that the word "Thanksgiving" prompts the spirit of humility.
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All in a Word By Aileen Fisher

T for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and Nov, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that abounds.
That spells ~~~THANKS---for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.

Reference:
1) Gordon, I.L. (1986) American History - Review Text.
2) Swindoll, C.R. (1983) Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, pp.394-6.
3) http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~homespun/tpoems.html