Thanksgiving. Tell us (non-US folk) what it's all about.

I think you must all be sleeping now.

Tomorrow, perhaps?

Ooooooooh!!! Ooooooh!

The pilgrims were worshipping Baal and meanly burning old ladies as witches and expelling Anne Hutchinson and starving and such, and only had parched corn, and some wise Indians came from the east and said they had been turkeys and they had to sacrifice the turkey and the turkey died for all their sins and they got to eat it after, only it didn't have any wine, and they were REALLY sick of parched corn (perhaps they should have watered it more so it wasn't so parched?) and they ate the turkey and they stopped worshipping Baal and became really anally retentive and stopped maypoles and all...and they had to wear funny hats....and they sacrifice millions upon millions of poor turkeys, even though the turkey saved their soouls, and they eat too much...(like when Jesus has his Birthday) and how THAT is giving thanks to the turkey, or the Indians, come to that, I don't know.

I suppose we should be thankful they don't kill and eat Indians then, though, eh? Except the turkeys, who likely wish they did.

Very colourful explanation, Deb!

All that eating too much sounds like our Christmas!

An interesting explanation! Chemically assisted?

Keep in mind, Deb, that only by the grace of God, did those natives come to be called Indians. It's a poorly kept secret that Columbus was really looking for Turkey. Think on how the first thanksgiving might have turned out if the native population had been called Turkeys instead of Indians.

I take it, roger, that Thanksgiving is not a exactly big deal to you?

It's a very big deal, but out of respect for our native Turkey's, I stick with ham, or hamburger, or maybe hot dogs.

Fair enough. Now I'm wondering about native turkeys ......

Sorry if I sound a bit proddy , but when you say it's a very big deal .... Is it because of family getting together, tradition, the idea of giving thanks ...?

Native Turkeys, through the quirk of history already mentioned, are frequently confused with non-native Indians. This is quite the deal to both Turkeys and Indians. Imagine Columbus' disgust after thinking he had made 4 voyages to India, and not having found a single Turkey.

...... but anyone can answer that, roger, if you're not too keen to.

Well, just go ahead, msolga. I've given it my best shot.

Been checking out your native turkeys, roger. Interesting.

.... hunting and land clearing led to the elimination of the wild turkey from most areas of the country. As early as the 1830s, John James Audubon observed that few remained east of the Appalachians. On Christmas bird counts between 1900 and 1940, the species usually went unreported nationwide. Because of reintroduction programs started after World War II, however, the species now thrives across much of its original range and into the western United States. Nearly 78,000 were reported during last year's count. ....



http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/nov/25/242040/wild-turkey-is-a-majestic-quick-clever-native-bird/

Thanks, Roger.

Anytime. Anytime at all.

LAst count, there were over 5 million wild turkeys in PA ALONE. We are being inundated with the buggers. Theyre all over the place. AND , its not so damn nice when yer driving along a country road and you hit a low flying turkey. AS some of the jakes can go over 15 pounds.
Its good that you can eat em but, on the most part, most MErkins dont know how to cook a turkey so we just let the damn things multiply unmolested and , instead we grow institutional turkeys in huge industrial concentration and freeducation camps.

I imagine that , by 2016. we will have a third party candidate representing wildturkeys..

NOw Thanksgiving, simply stated, is a holiday in which we are forced to prepare and eat foods that noone in their right minds would eat normally. I talk , of course, about foods like candied potatoes, here they take perfectly good sweet potatoes and then cook thm in pancake syrup to transform them into a member of the dessert food group. They are best if served to some starving population of Hotentots, as they are a quick source of sugar and fats, not to mention marshmaalows.

There are countless other Thanksgiving "food-like" substances, I cannot be responsible for remembering any more of them, its good enough that I knew about candied sweet potatoes.

The day after Thanksgiving is an even more relevant day in AMerican History, it is the DAy that Jeffrey DAumer died.

Nonsense!


He was looking for India, by sailing the wrong way.

The Puritans were the turkeys, the Indians were, like, Cherokee, and Susies and Hopis and such.

You can be sure that the Christians will get in there someplace.

"Thanksgiving is all about God and thanking him for the gifts of life, love, joy, and more. Yes, we get to see family and friends and we get to eat a great meal. But our central purpose should be to give thanks to God. Hmmm, maybe Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday after all.

Thanksgiving remains a hard sell for children, though. No candy, no gifts, no surprises. Sure, you get pumpkin pie and few days off school, but other than that… How can we show our children the importance of both Thanksgiving and giving thanks?

We need to begin by making sure our children know the story of the first Thanksgiving. Children don’t always hear the Thanksgiving story in school anymore, so it is important that you share it with them at home. Find a book or video that tells the story of the Pilgrims, the hard life they suffered in America, their friendships with the Wampanoag people, and how they set aside a day to thank God for his blessings. These people were truly survivors!
"

If you google "Thanksgiving meaning" as I just did you will be offered a whole clutch of answers and they're all remarkably different.

...and equally sappy