Thanksgiving!

This festive season we travel long distances from school, work, or other activities to be close with our friends and family. Some fly half way across the world to be home for this special evening because it has a very important history for americans. Each family may have different traditions for what they do on thanksgiving, whether it be watching football or eating pizza instead of turkey, but they all share the same meaning. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with the family and converse on past times and enjoy the present. It is a time to be thankful for what you have and what you don't have. But do most americans know the true history of the first thanksgiving?

Back in 1621 the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

If the colonists had not started this great tradition hundreds of years ago this holiday would not exist. My thanksgiving break was terrific. I came home after a hard math test ready to relax. I saw the new james bond with my brother and sister and thought it was great! Then on thanksgiving day both of my grandmothers came over along with my dads college roomate. We talked over a great turkey dinner and enjoyed each others presence. During the weekend I was able to see alot of my friends from high school and talk about each others college experience so far. Then sunday I hopped back to dallas for the end of the semester. Overall i would say my break was great and couldn't hoped for more.

check out this website for some more infor on the history of thanksgiving http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=minisite_generic&content_type_id=872&display_order=1&mini_id=1083