Give Thanks

Today, citizens of the United States celebrate a day to be thankful for everything you have in your life. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation where the pilgrims gave thanks to God for surviving a brutal winter, a harvest festival that expanded three days. Our modern day celebrations are compared to this meal held in 1921. Although it’s not the first official Thanksgiving in this country.

A similar harvest festival took place in 1619 at the Virginia Colony and some say it dates further back to 1565 when 600 Spanish settlers held a mass of Thanksgiving after arriving safely to St. Augustine, Florida. However, it wasn’t a harvest festival and thus, some refuse to acknowledge it as the first Thanksgiving in the New World. President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving about 200 years after the Plymouth celebration. However, it was not made an official national holiday until 1941 by Congress.

In the United States, many people will be participating the tradition of eat Turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. For those of you who are not celebrating Thanksgiving, you could always take this time to give thanks. There is always something to be thankful of: family, friends, a great writing career and a wonderful life in general. It doesn’t exactly have to be a national holiday for you to show how appreciative you are. What are some things you’re thankful for?