Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on Era. Here are some Thanksgiving articles that hopefully will encourage everyone on this day of relationships.
Ten things you didn't know about Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching in the United States, we thought that it would be interesting to highlight ten fun facts on the holiday from the newly released The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Second Edition.
4 Reasons We Can Be Thankful in Times of Trouble
On Thanksgiving Day Americans celebrate our most religious of secular holiday. For hundreds of years we've made a national tradition of giving thanks for the blessings of the preceding year. But for Christians, every day should be a day of thanksgiving, since the regular practice of gratitude is a means by which we become rightly oriented toward God. Without a regular infusion of gratitude we can become self-involved, believing that we are the ones responsible for all that we have in our lives. Only by developing the discipline of gratitude can we ensure that we are cognizant of God's goodness and reliant on him for our daily existence.
Here's a recipe for civil chats during your turkey dinner
For those of us with strong political opinions, none of this comes easily. But in this hyperpolarized era, where Americans don't just disagree with their political opponents, but increasingly demonize them as enemies, such efforts are needed. As a leading moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt said, "Political polarization and cross-partisan hatred are an existential threat to the future of the American Experiment. Personal relationships are the most powerful way to bridge the divide and bring Americans into productive democratic discussion." So let's embrace our patriotic duties this Thanksgiving and have a constructive conversation about politics with someone we disagree with. If the discussion starts to get out of control, you can always steer talk to the Vikings-Lions game.
The Original Thanksgiving Menu in the Fall of 1621
In late September or early October, the Pilgrims celebrated their recently gathered harvest. They did so without pumpkin pie (no ovens), cranberry sauce (no sugar), and sweet potatoes (not native to North America). One of the settlers, Edward Winslow, recorded that they ate some kind of "fowl"—more likely to be goose or duck than turkey. Geese were much easier to shoot. The meal may also have included fish, shellfish, and perhaps eel, and the settlers would also have used vegetables such as turnips and carrots. Nor did they sit across from their native counterparts at a long table. Instead, McKenzie writes, "We should picture an outdoor feast in which almost everyone was sitting on the ground and eating with their hands." About 90 Wampanoag men and their chief Massasoit were present, but we don't know whether they came with an invitation. A few years later, a delegation politely informed Massasoit that the Pilgrims "could no longer give them such entertainment as [they] had done." It was, in any event, a fragile peace. In 1623, the Pilgrims placed the severed head of a Massachusetts Indian on their fort as a warning to native enemies and friends alike. For the Pilgrims, this was not a holy day of thanksgiving, a long and solemn day of prayer, preaching, and worship. Instead, the "first" thanksgiving was a harvest celebration, including military drills and "recreations" (probably races, shooting contests, and so forth). Later generations of Americans temporarily managed to turn Thanksgiving into a church-centered day of worship and thanks, which eventually faded into an increased focus both on large family meals and football games.
