Interesting Stories for the Holiday Season

It is well documented throughout the ages that history is written by the victorious and consequently we often get a very one sided account of what truly happened in many instances. Written history is black or white and does not leave too much space for intelligent discussion of how close the “final” vote or count was. Take for example the issue of the First Thanksgiving Celebration in the Americas. Was it Menendez, who shared a Mass and a Meal of bean soup with the Timucuan Indians on September 8, 1565 in St. Augustine Florida? Or was the place Jamestown Virgina or was it really the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock?

Without a proper definition of what Thanksgiving really entails, these “claims” are the property of the victors who write the history books. Today we know and reluctantly accept that Columbus was a latecomer, preceded not only by other explorers from other cultures, but by Stone Age immigrants who had populated the New World thousands of years before. And what about the Vikings? And the Chinese?

What does Thanksgiving mean?

Before the establishment of formal religions many ancient farmers believed that their crops contained spirits which caused the crops to grow and die. Many believed that these spirits would be released when the crops were harvested and they had to be destroyed or they would take revenge on the farmers who harvested them. Some of the harvest festivals celebrated the defeat of these spirits.

Harvest festivals were thanksgiving celebrations common among all ancient people and even more pronounced by the Greeks, the Romans, the Hebrews, the Chinese and the Egyptians.

The Greeks
The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. Their goddess of grains was Demeter who was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn. On the first day of the festival married women (possibility connecting childbearing and the raising of crops) would build leafy shelters and furnish them with couches made with plants. On the second day they fasted. On the third day a feast was held and offerings to the goddess Demeter were made – gifts of seed corn, cakes, fruit and pigs. It was hoped that Demeter’s gratitude would grant them a continued good harvest.

The Romans
The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia, which honored Ceres their goddess of grains (from which the word cereal comes). The festival was held each year on October 4th and offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were offered to Ceres. Their celebration included music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast.

The Chinese
The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch’ui, with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the Chinese calendar 8th month. This day was considered the birthday of the moon and special “moon cakes”, round and yellow like the moon, would be baked. Each cake was stamped with the picture of a rabbit – as it was a rabbit, not a man, which the Chinese saw on the face of the moon.

The families ate a thanksgiving meal and feasted on roasted pig, harvested fruits and the “moon cakes”. It was believed that during the 3 day festival flowers would fall from the moon and those who saw them would be rewarded with good fortune.

The Hebrews
Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. Taking place each autumn, Sukkoth has been celebrated for over 3000 years. Sukkoth is know by 2 names – Hag ha Succot – the Feast of the Tabernacles and Hag ha Asif – the Feast of Ingathering. Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, 5 days after Yom Kippur the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Sukkoth is named for the huts (succots) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert. When celebrating Sukkoth, which lasts for 8 days, the Jewish people build small huts of branches which recall the tabernacles of their ancestors. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters, as the branches are not driven into the ground and the roof is covered with foliage which is spaced to let the light in. Inside the huts are hung fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. On the first 2 nights of Sukkoth the families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky.

The Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptian’s harvest season. The festival of Min featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part. After the parade a great feast was held. Music, dancing, and sports were also part of the celebration.

When the Egyptian farmers harvested their corn, they wept and pretended to be grief-stricken. This was to deceive the spirit which they believed lived in the corn. They feared the spirit would become angry when the farmers cut down the corn where it lived.

The United States
As the recorded (and possibly misguided) history goes: In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim’s fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.

The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770’s) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress and implemented by George Washington.

In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Until 1941 each president issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday. In 1941 the National Holiday was finally ratified by Congress.

So regardless of the controversy surrounding the First Thanksgiving on the American Continent, this traditional feast is now held on the last Thursday in November with traditional dishes of turkey, ham, corn and lima beans, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes and lots of pies like pecan, mince meat and pumpkin.
Thanksgiving starts of the Holiday Season that traditionally lasts through January 6th or Three Kings Day or the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the real day for gift giving.

Stories like these and many other facts, fairy tales, Christmas songs, decoration tips, recipes, gift ideas and family games you can find in our “Celebrate the Holidays in Frugal Flair”. You can buy and download this eBook right here and the proceeds will go the Muscular Dystrophy (Jerry’s Kids) and this year’s local LOCK UP program.