Publisher's Synopsis
Thanksgiving is a very special time of year for many of us. Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy food, fun, and relaxation with family and friends. Thanksgiving is about more than just a holiday; it's a way of life. Since its creation, Thanksgiving has been one of the busiest times of the year for retailers. The year before Thanksgiving was known as Black Friday; this was the day when most stores started Black Friday shopping early in the morning.
The origin of Thanksgiving can be traced as far back as 17th century. On that day, a man named Aaron Sickles took some grains from his garden and planted them at the foot of a tree on thanksgiving day. The first Thanksgiving feast was actually held in mid-fall of 16 21, after the first harvested crop. This was not a large harvest because it was a time of year when farmers did not have much money to spend. Because thanksgiving was a time for sharing and giving, the early settlers of thanksgiving celebrated by sharing and giving with each other.
As the colony of Massachusetts was being formed, thanksgiving day became known as the "Pilgrim" migration. The Pilgrims were a group of American settlers who would move to the New World and would start a new life in what is now modern day New England. The tradition of thanksgiving day became a way to share the good luck of the settlers with their Native American neighbors.
Because the harvest was plentiful thanksgiving day, food was abundant and plentiful too. One of the main staples of thanksgiving, besides all the cranberries, was thanksgiving bread. This was the "bread of roses" as the settlers called it and they were really a sweet, soft sweet treat. There were also a number of different kinds of cakes, pies, brownies and cookies that the settlers made and sold in the thanksgiving markets. These treats, while very sweet, were also a big hit with the native americans who made cranberry juice and made preserves from the apples, plums, pears and the cranberries.
During the early days of the thanksgiving holiday, thanksgiving was also thought of as a time to get married. And the wedding parties, the bridal shower and the wedding itself all had a very strong tie to thanksgiving and what the holiday stood for. That is why the wedding reception has a ceremonial look to it today as well and there is a dance that goes along with the theme of thanksgiving and what the holiday means to many of us. The wedding cake too symbolizes the good fortune that the newlyweds enjoy on thanksgiving day as well as what good fortune the family and friends have brought together on the occasion of thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving has endured and flourished because of its ability to hold together people from around the world and to bring people and their traditions together under one banner. It is not a surprise therefore that the Thanksgiving festival has continued even up to this date and thanksgiving is now seen as a mid-autumn festival in most parts of the United States of America and in fact the world. Thanksgiving has been seen as a crucial part of the American dream and the spirit of the holiday is still celebrated as hard as it did on its origins as a way to send thanks to friends and neighbors. Thanksgiving is a holiday about food, and thanksgiving time is about food. There are some foods that are related to thanksgiving but it is more about the spirit of thanksgiving than the food.
