Letter To The Editor: Let’s Celebrate Thanksgiving

Dear Editor,
Thanksgiving Day is set aside each year for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. The tradition is shared by millions of people of different races, religions, beliefs and backgrounds. This day binds Americans together in our national identity. For that alone we can be thankful and pray that our nation will stand strong for peace.
The first Thanksgiving Day in North America was in 1580 in Newfoundland. The second was in Maine in 1607, and the third was in Virginia in 1618. The Pilgrim’s Day was 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They likely ate geese, turkey, swan, pigeons, ducks, deer, fish, lobster, oysters, eels, clams, corn, cornmeal cakes, watercress salads, cabbage, turnips, carrots, beets, radishes, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries and, of course, pumpkins. This is not of course our traditional meal.
In 1789, George Washington, America’s First President, declared our first national day of Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a National Holiday for Thanksgiving, and since 1941 it is an official public holiday in the United States.
So we all celebrate Thanksgiving Day. We gather with families to eat, eat and eat till we can not eat anymore. We watch football, play games, take naps and see who can tell the biggest tale (false or true). Then, we get ready to go shopping the next day. We are all so thankful for what we do have in life – family, love, and health.
Bless all families in our world that God made.
Sincerely,
Imogene Naylor