1. The Wing and I President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored Thursday before last of November as Thanksgiving Day in the year 1939. He did so to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy of the state. The first National Football League game held on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans. The NBC radio network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country. Since that time, the Lions have played a game every Thanksgiving (except between 1939 and 1944)—in 1956, fans watched the game on television for the first time. Despite record-high gas prices (more than $3.00 per gallon) in 2007, the American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 38.7 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more from home for the Thanksgiving holiday, a slight increase of 1.5% over the previous year. Of those Americans traveling for Thanksgiving in 2007, approximately 80 percent (31.2 million) were expected to go by motor vehicle, 12.1 percent (4.7 million) by airplane and the rest (2.8 million) by train, bus or other mode of transportation. Originally known as Macy's Christmas Parade—to signify the launch of the Christmas shopping season—the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy's employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. In 2007, some 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watched it on television. The National Turkey Federation estimated that 46 million turkeys—one fifth of the annual total of 235 million consumed in the United States in 2007—were eaten at Thanksgiving. In a survey conducted by the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans said they eat turkey at Thanksgiving. The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds (the Guiness record is 86 pounds!). Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor with a magazine, started a Thanksgiving campaign in 1827—and it was result of her constant efforts that President Abraham Lincoln issued, on the third October of 1863, a 'Thanksgiving Proclamation' and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving. The cranberry is a symbol and a modern diet staple of Thanksgiving. Originally called crane berry, it derived its name from its pink blossoms and drooping head, which reminded the Pilgrims of a crane.
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It's easy in our culture to lose sight of what we're remembering on Thanksgiving. Even considering the economic downturn we are experiencing, we still have much abundance. The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast—including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast lasted three days. But the Pilgrims' trials were far from finished—their plentiful autumn was followed by a particularly treacherous winter. Unfortunately, the weather proved to be the least of their ailments. In November a ship called "The Fortune" dropped anchor in their harbor. Aboard the ship were 35 more colonists who had brought with them no provisions—no food, no extra clothing, no equipment for survival. Additionally, the oppression of the physical environment had become almost unbearable after a 12 week drought dried up their crops and withered their spirits. The newcomers arrival had drained already inadequate food rations and there was no obvious resource for sustenance. At their lowest point, the Pilgrims were all reduced to a daily ration of FIVE KERNELS OF CORN apiece. The following poem was written by Hezekiah Butterworth, an American patriot schoolteacher from Boston, in April 1622, when their food supply was almost gone.
FIVE KERNELS OF CORN Again, things did turn around—14 days of rain followed. A second Day of Thanksgiving was declared, and the pilgrims feasted on game and turkey as they had during the previous celebration, only this time one dish was different. The first course, served on an empty plate in front of each person, consisted of FIVE KERNELS OF CORN, a gentle 'reminder' of what had happen in the past. The Pilgrims' humble response to their affliction is evidenced by their many writings which express deeply thankful hearts. We can learn countless lessons about sincere thankfulness from their example. FIVE KERNELS
We, like the Pilgrims, all have a 'choice'—in life there will always be those things that we can complain about—but there will also be much to be grateful for. Thanksgiving should be a continuous attitude of the heart rather than simply one day of the year—being grateful for what you have, and finding 'joy' in being generous by SHARING SOME OF WHAT YOU HAVE. So, express your appreciation in your own way. The upcoming holiday season is a great time for your family to get involved in helping to meet the needs of others in your community. Here are some ideas for reaching out and helping others during the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. • Donate your time helping out at a food kitchen or a food bank. • Visit someone who lives at a nursing home or who lives alone and is confined at home because of poor health. • Invite some neighbors who don’t have plans to join your family for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. • Buy some (or all) of the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner groceries for a needy family in your community. • Have your family go through their winter clothes and coats, pick out those that are old or are no longer wanted or needed---and give them to homeless people in your area---or take them to a local shelter. • Make some bag lunches and distribute them to homeless people in your area. • Make more desserts than you need for your holiday meals. Give extras to neighbors or to a needy family in your area. • Find an elderly person in your area that could use some help at the grocery store. Better yet, invite them to your home for a special holiday meal. • Find a family in your area that could use some help to take care of fall yard clean-up, basic repair or weatherization around their home. Buy the needed materials and get to work! • Invite a neighbor’s family over for a simple, fun family game night.
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