Thanksgiving Essay examples - 588 Words

The truth behind the tradition is surprising. Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims seem to go together, but the truth is, the Pilgrims never held an autumnal Thanksgiving feast. However the Pilgrims did have a feast in 1621, after their first harvest, and it is this feast, which people often refer to as quot;The First Thanksgivingquot;. This feast was never repeated, though, so it cant be called the beginning of a tradition, nor was it termed by the colonists or quot;Pilgrimsquot; a Thanksgiving Feast. In fact, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting, and would have been held any time that they felt an extra day of thanks was called for. Nevertheless, the 1621 feast has become a model that we think of for our own†¦show more content†¦The truth of the matter is, when the Pilgrims arrived, they found an abandoned Wampanoag village and moved right in. In 1618, a massive epidemic of an unknown disease left by English explorers swept across Wampanoag country and decimated many of the villages. This epidemic caused the death of ten to thirty percent of the total population and all but a few of the 2,000 people of the village of Patuxet. When the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, they landed at Patuxet with no idea of what had occurred. At this point, there were only about 2,000 members left in the Wampanoag tribe, down from 12,000 in 1600. Despite the incredible losses to his people, Wampanoag leader Massasoit and 90 of his men sat down for a harvest celebration offered by the white men. For three days the Wampanoag and Pilgrims feasted on deer, wild turkey, fish, beans, squash, corn and other foods native to North America. Although the celebration was good-natured, this event truly signifies the beginning of a drastic decline of native culture and Thanksgiving would be more fittingly observed as a day of mourning rather than a celebration. In the years that followed, skirmishes occurred and more Native Americans were killed. In 1637, English soldiers massacr ed 700 Pequot men, women and children as an example of the English way of war, yet we still celebrate Thanksgiving as a joyful event. So, as we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner,Show MoreRelatedEssay on History of Thanksgiving885 Words   |  4 Pages Thanksgiving is a very important holiday in present-day American culture. People all throughout America take extra care to make this day a memorable and happy celebration. This tradition has been in the American lifestyle since 1621 when it first started. Even though this tradition has been altered and changed the significance and meaning remains the same. The first Thanksgiving was an important landmark and made a huge imprint in the American culture today. The first Thanksgiving was celebratedRead MoreMichael Arlen Ode to Thanksgiving1439 Words   |  6 PagesMICHAEL ARLEN: ODE TO THANKSGIVING It is time, at last, to speak the truth about Thanksgiving, and the truth is this. Thanksgiving is really not such a terrific holiday. Consider the traditional symbols of the event: Dried corn husks hanging on the door! Terrible wine! Cranberry jelly in little bowls of extremely doubtful provenance which everyone is required to handle with the greatest of care! Consider the participants, the merrymakers: men and women (also children) who have survivedRead More How to Prepare a Thanksgiving Dinner Essay1323 Words   |  6 PagesPrepare a Thanksgiving Dinner Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate our joys with friends and family. Unfortunately, if you are the person designated to cooking the holiday dinner, the joys can turn into complete and total fear. Ill never forget the first time I made Thanksgiving dinner for twenty family members and friends. I waited until the last minute to start and the dinner ended in a complete disaster. In the years following that failure, I have learned that preparing a Thanksgiving dinnerRead More The Second Tradition of Thanksgiving Essay807 Words   |  4 Pages When the great holiday of Thanksgiving comes to mind, most people think of becoming total gluttons and gorging themselves with a seemingly unending amount of food. Others might think of the time spent with family and friends. The whole basis of the holiday is family togetherness, fellowship, and thankfulness for blessings received during the previous year. Every family has their own unique way of spending time together with loved ones only seen during the holidays. Read MoreEthnography Paper on Thanksgiving850 Words   |  3 PagesAs the holiday season is coming nearer each day, I found it appropriate to look further into the traditional Thanksgiving topic. I can only describe what my family does, my Puerto Rican and Caucasian family. As far as I can say, we are not necessarily traditional with our celebration of Thanksgiving. So I figured why not use this assignment as a way to further look into the holiday and how it is celebrated across America, this can mean anything from families celebrating it in their homes, to theRead MoreThe Behaviors Of People Shopping Is Best Buy On Black Friday At The King Of Prussia Mall ( Kop1569 Words   |  7 PagesThis file assignment is to participate and to observe the anthropological concepts usages in American rituals. Since I did not have the chance to meet with my family members, wh o live in Indiana, I choose to participate in the modern tradition of Thanksgiving- shopping. Moreover, one of my friends decided she want to experience the spirit and the heat of Black Friday by lining up outside a retile store beforehand she was then kind enough to take me with him. After searching online with all the BlackRead MoreEssay On Hurricane Harvey787 Words   |  4 PagesThe website story was aimed towards informing the college campus and the community. The fourth highest performing post was information on the University’s service hours during the Thanksgiving holiday. The post reached 4,391 people and had 16 reactions. Only one user commented on the post saying, â€Å"Happy thanksgiving to all†. The posted showed open service hours from the Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Islander Dining, and Recreational Sports at TAMU-CC. This post is mainly aimed towards students. TheRead MoreGreed Is Among Us And Within Americans1941 Words   |  8 PagesTitle Greed is among us and within Americans all the time, but one night a year it comes out in the worst way possible†¦ Black Friday shopping. Black Friday happens every year the day after Thanksgiving, where stores put big sales on their products and open their doors early in the morning waiting for the chaos to commence. During the time of the sales people become greedy and crazy and are willing to do almost anything just to try and save a couple of dollars. Every year on the news people hearRead MoreBlack Friday Madness1236 Words   |  5 PagesFriday Madness In the essay â€Å"Black Friday: Consumerism Minus Civilization,† the author, Andrew Leonard, makes the argument that, â€Å"The out-of-control marketing and consumer insanity† (135) has taken over Thanksgiving and the days following it. Sadly, as consumers, we have forgotten what Thanksgiving is really all about. Marketing businesses have gone overboard brainwashing consumers with advertisements pumping them up to shop on Black Friday and the days that follow. Moreover, marketing businessesRead MorePersuasive Speech : Black Friday 1244 Words   |  5 Pagesthe day after Thanksgiving. A. The first â€Å"Black Friday† on record was on September 24, 1869. 1. According to an article on PBS.org, and Investopedia.com, this day was deemed Black Friday after the crash of the gold market in the United States. 2. The scandal of that day started to coin the term â€Å"black† to describe other horrible days in financial markets where stocks have plummeted. B. In the early 1960s the Philadelphia police department started calling the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday