Posted on 11/06/2013 2:26:47 PM PST by Armen Hareyan
Thanksgiving, or National Family History Day as it is now called, is upon us and in all the pomp and joy we often forget that it is the day to give thanks for what you have, particularly when it comes to a family with grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren.
Mind you, the first ever Thanksgiving dinner was nearly 400 years ago and between the English Pilgrims and the Native Americans from different tribes in the region, a celebration of life and a pact of peace which was one of the only to survive more than 50 years. After the first corn harvest by the new settlers on their land, the Natives joined in a 3-day feast to celebrate the fact that they not only made it to the "promised land" but also made it through the winter and much of the year, a life owed greatly to the local tribes. These days, corn has been found to help with type 2 diabetes and kidney complications.
While the original menu is very much a mystery, though it is said to have included fowl and deer while the low sugar supplies along with the lack of oven meant no pies and baked sweets, it most certainly did not look like the tables set out in the modern day. Lobster, seal and swans were also on the menu, replaced by a simple turkey these days. Gobble Gobble. At least you can use the leftovers for a full week of food afterwards. I wonder what games they would have played, as football as a sport did not exist until November 6, 1869. No television sets either.
According to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine in the Pacific Northwest Region, if we have added turkey and football games to our thanksgiving traditions, it is about time to add a very important new addition as well. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared Thanksgiving to be National Family History Day, the day when everyone in the family gathers together to talk about everything that is important, particularly in relation to health. It should be something added to the table to ensure all generations are aware of what they are up against. a medical history of the whole family should be prepared and kept close, to be shared with a doctor. After all, the first Pilgrims gave thanks for surviving a harsh winter where many died of exposure, scurvy and other diseases that take root in the malnourished, particularly on the sea.
Modern Thanksgiving Traditions I Heartily Recommend
All right, you are no Pilgrim and you have not called your local native tribal leaders to take part in the feast. You have invited your family and closest relatives and have children running amok. What should you be doing today?
Wake up in your own time: Literally, pay attention to your own leisure. No need to scramble awake at 7 am. 9 am is perfectly fine and a healthy breakfast before starting with preparations is a must. A pumpkin spice low-fat cake you made the night before with cinnamon and honey tea sounds about perfect.
Play a game: Well, Huffpost recommends a family run but I am going to go with suggesting a family game. This means putting on your outdoor gear according to the weather, grabbing a ball or equipment of a favorite sport and spending the morning running back and forth laughing and hugging and simply being as silly as humanly possible. Both healthy for the body and the mind. It is not every day you have the family together all day.
Grandparents and grandchildren: Grandparents have a soft spot for the youngest little gems in the family so include them all. Your parents, your in-laws, your children and all that jazz. have them picking vegetables, chopping things up, getting creative and decorating the table together. They will love it and so will you. After all, they dropped your workload to half its original size.
Crafts, Crafts, Crafts- a Family Mural: Children and adults alike love to create things. They love to decorate their homes with things they have made and love to show it all off. So why not sit down with the kids and adults in the family alike and make something unique. Drawings are easy and adding paint to it makes it fun. Why not a family mural with handprints used to pain a picture. It can be fun, messy, and absolutely full of memories. Throughout you would be laughing and reminiscing, sharing stories and making children's eyes pop with wonder.
Don't forget to give your thanks: A simple thank you is hard at any point if you are not used to uttering those two words. Sitting at that table, however, you are able to make the process easier. An article on MNN outlines a rather interesting activity where each member brings in 3 items that represent the 3 things they are grateful for. It doesn't matter how small or large these things may be. They can be events, objects, good grades, etc. It's an interesting way to discover something more about ourselves and those in our families.
What about some amazing recipes?
First of all, make sure you have chosen and prepared your turkey well!
Also, check out some of these great yummies described in previous stories:
Traditional modern side dishes you say? Check out what the Florida Hospital has to recommend for you.
How about some desserts with added nutrition?
Additional source: History Channel
Try not to go to stores that are already selling Christmas items nor listen to radio stations that are playing “Holiday” music. And good luck with that.
When did a Thanksgiving become National Family History
Day??? The author lost me there. Is this a new Obama EO?
Rather a bunch of nannyish BS isn’t it?
BTW, welcome to FR
PS-I don’t see God mentioned once is this article.
My family is spread out throughout the Midwest, TN, MD, GA, CA, CT, MA. I have a very difficult time flying so we stay here in s. FL. It’s kind of a sad day for me.
The Rant on Obamacare
Yep, when family members begin to compare notes...
Happily, this year all the family members with whom we will be sharing Thanksgiving agree on Obamacare.YAAAAAAY!
In other households, where there may be a few leftists, the conservatives will easily square them down with actual experience. The lefties may sputter for a while, but they won't get the best of Grandma who just got kicked around because of Obamacare and Uncle Ned who either lost his insurance or his "new" plan has made having health insurance no longer affordable.
Lefty Lou may just either leave early or shut the hell up.
One of my ancestors was a non-pilgrim signer of the Mayflower Compact and was the chief negotiator with the native tribes. I will spend part of Thanksgiving thinking of the great nation that came in part from his sacrifices and take hope that true patriots can come together pretty soon and take back our Republic and Constitution from this fascist kenyan and his National Socialist Democrat Party.
Did this once with my Dad an BIL. Got a set of golf clubs and played the (closed for the day) golf course nearby. Fees were much more reasonable.
Must be a new holiday honoring homosexual “families.”
Sounds like a liberal trying to redefine Thanksgiving.
Don't have to tell me that. But my crazy body will probably be wide awake at 4:30 am.
A pumpkin spice low-fat cake you made the night before with
Low-fat on Thanksgiving? No way!
Don't forget to give your thanks:
Don't have to tell me that either.
“Thanksgiving” — my nemesis. VANITY - OK! ; )
The Pilgrims were iconoclasts. AND they indeed forbade the celebration of Christmas, which is the real celebration of the season. After all, Advent starts right after Turkey-Day. Advent prepares us for Christmas, the Birth of our Lord. Instead, we have Halloween and Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and people taking down their Christmas trees just when Christmas has begun.
Give me Advent and Give me Christmas, but spare me Turkey-Day. SORRY.
I do appreciate the message of giving thanks — Ernten Dank Fest u.s.w. I am not philosophically against an American Day of Thanks, despite the origins of the event by those who opposed the REAL season of giving thanks for the birth of our Lord.
Our American Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, no matter how rooted in SOME “religous” traditions. Like the “religous traditions” of people who forbade, when and where they could, the celebration of Christmas.
OK giving thanks is wonderful! Having a nice meal with family is wonderful! But Turkey-Day is just TOO CLOSE to Advent and Christmas, which are MUCH more meaningful! I AM JUST TOO BUSY. TOO OVERWORKED. I can’t DO the big Turkey-Day feast. So I won’t. I mean, isn’t that logical??
Turkey-Day is too close to Christmas. For me and mine, it is Christmas that is sancrosanct, and even that is hard to properly celebrate these days with all the requirements thrust upon small businesses in the fourth quarter.
For all of you who can do both, God has truly Blessed you!
Of necessity, I have to despise Turkey-Day as an impossible pressure on what free time I have, and look to Christmas — work and pressure still, but much more worth the effort.
No criticism of anyone who can do both. I just can’t.
I do not think I can blame Black Friday on the Pilgrims
Same here. I never heard of family history day.
*running back and forth laughing and hugging and simply being as silly as humanly possible. *
Sounds like what goes on in Washington every day...
“I do not think I can blame Black Friday on the Pilgrims.”
HA! No I do not think we can blame Black Friday on the Pilgrims! But I do blame them for being against Christmas. And where and when they had the power to do so, they banned Christmas. So I don’t feel guilty about banning Thanksgiving from my life, when I have to. OK I admit I have a sentimentallity for it too, many fond memories, and just lately have been in touch with relatives about — what to DO about it. Schmuck that I am. HA! Just overwhelmed and — voting for Advent and Christmas. And wishing Turkey-Day would just go away, and leave me in peace for Advent.
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