Thanksgiving Gifts

Way back in the 1600's, a group of people, who were members of the English Separatist Church (Puritan's) in England, left their native place to escape religious coarseness. They boarded a ship and sailed to Netherlands to practice their self-imposed exile. They stayed there for 12 years and then boarded the legendary Mayflower in search of new opportunities and a new sanctuary.
This group first set foot on American land on Dec 11, 1620 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. This group later came to be known as pilgrims, a term that more appropriately refers to these religious separatists. Pilgrims had a very hard time and lived on the edge of survival during their first winter in their new-found home. Due to extreme cold, lack of food and blizzard living conditions 46 lives were lost.
But the spring and summer of next year brought pleasant weather and cheer to the camp. The native Indians, whom the pilgrims feared, came to the aid. The natives taught the colonists techniques of corn farming and trapping eels. The Pilgrims, who had snitched corn from the farms of the native Indians the previous December, may not have deserved the favor. But this unexpected cooperation made the difference for the pilgrims between starvation and survival.
That season, the harvest was good and the Pilgrims' food quota increased substantially. By fall, the pilgrims were well settled, the deaths had stopped and even trade had begun with the native Indians.
To celebrate, the Pilgrims invited Massasoit (The Chief of the natives) to a harvest festival, for which a hunting party shot waterfowl enough to feed the pilgrims and the Chief for a week. But when Massasoit arrived, he was joined by ninety other natives. On their part, the natives went hunting and returned with 5 deers. The feast of venison, roast duck, roast goose, succulent eels, shellfish, corn bread, salads made of leeks and watercress, with wild plums, dried berries and wine. It was a feast to celebrate humanity, life, abundance, a feast to thank God for the blessings.
The tradition of celebrating a bountiful harvest continued hence. In 1789, President George Washington announced a national Thanksgiving, to celebrate the formalization of the United States Constitution. Gradually, Thanksgiving became an annual celebration for many states. Finally in the year 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November an annual national Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time for togetherness and sharing. It's a time for homecoming. Even if they live in another corner of the world, family members often gather for family reunions. Enjoying delicious meals, playing video games, watching TV with family, thanking God for the gift of life and memories that last a lifetime.