There’s been so much hype in the last few days regarding Black Friday, even earlier store openings and the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn that it feels that our annual Thanksgiving celebrations are being put on the back burner.

But by now the turkey should be defrosting and the trimmings prepared to put in the oven in the morning. Maybe now is a good time to sit down and really take a look at what Thanksgiving is all about.

We all know that Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday of November. A day that gives us the opportunity to be grateful for the freedoms this country gives us.

We have been taught since kindergarten that after the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in the early 1600s they wanted to give thanks for their blessings.

According to the History Channel in 1621 the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

This celebration went on for more than two centuries, where days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Congress didn’t make it an official holiday until 1941.
Today over 90 percent of households in America sit down to a full turkey dinner each year. So, now it’s time for you to do the same.

Enjoy your family, friends and fabulous food this holiday and eat up for those early hours of shopping.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at the Lake Stevens Journal!
 

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