On Thursday across the United States we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. The tradition of dedicating at least one day to thanks dates back as far as 1621 in the United States. While the original purpose was to give thanks for a plentiful harvest, it has evolved over time to a day spent with family and reflecting on the riches we have in our lives.From its origin to 1863, the date of Thanksgiving was decided on by each state independently. It was not until President Abraham Lincoln issued a presidential proclamation to uniformly recognize the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. In the midst of the Civil War President Lincoln was looking for any and all reasons and methods to unify the country. While it may not have meant much in 1863, the establishment of a national holiday started a day of tradition. Whether it be the turkey, football, or special desert, we each have special family rituals while focusing on giving thanks for the many things we have.
Do you think President Lincoln was right to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday? Do you have any special traditions in your family for Thanksgiving? If so, what? What are you thankful for?
Sophia-I think Thanksgiving was a great invention of a holiday. It's a time when we put all of our egotistical ways behind us, even if just for a day, and reflect on our blessings in life. My family doesn't really have any traditions. We just spend Thanksgiving with our friends. I am thankful for the school I go to, my family, my house, being well nourished, and all the things that I am fortunate to have.
ReplyDeleteAngie- I love Thanksgiving! I'm glad that it's a national holiday! I love all the different foods and then going to the Black Friday Sale the next morning. A tradition my family and I always do is putting up Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving. The Christmas tree and decorations outside too. My family likes to have A LOT of Christmas decorations in and outside of our house. I'm thankful for a lot of things. My whole family, my friends, a house, a good education, and being able to do and have new opportunities.
ReplyDeletePhillip- I think President Lincoln was right to create Thanksgiving. Because of it, many family members that never usually talk to each other are united. We usually eat turkey on Thanksgiving. We also roll this little wooden prayer die for our Thanksgiving prayer. I am thankful for living in a country like America where we have so many freedoms. I am also thankful for my wonderful family.
ReplyDeleteIsabelle- I think it's great that President Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. It allows us to look back on our fortunes and thank God for them. My whole family usually goes over to my grandma's house where we have a great dinner. I am mostly grateful for my family, good health, and good fortunes!
ReplyDeleteNolen-thanksgiving is a good holiday and probably always will be. For thanksgiving my family and I usually just go have dinner at family or friends houses and just have a good time. I'm thankful for a lot but some main things are my Heath and my family and friends.
ReplyDeleteDanielle- I think that it's awesome that Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday.It's a time to give thanks to God for everything we have. We also invite our family friends from Reno, Nevada to come and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We always have the same delicious food every year. Turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, green beans, rolls, cranberry, yams, stuffing, this marshmellow fruit thing we call white fluffy, apple pie, and pumpkin pie! We also always watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and have cinnamon rolls and this yummy sausage cheese thing my mom makes :) I love Thanksgving!
ReplyDeleteDanielle- I forgot to say that I am thankful for my family and a wonderful education and to be healthy and happy!
ReplyDeleteLuke- I think that it is a great thing to establish a holiday to thank your family, friends, teachers, etc... for every thing that they have helped me with. This holiday lets us look back in the past year and give thanks to all people. Every year for the last 11 years my grand father bought a big place in Vail, Colorado. My uncle and his family and my grandparents and my family travel in the car to colorado which is about a 11-12 hour trip. its a pain getting there but once your there my family is very fun to be with and we always have a good time skiing and snowboarding! I am most thankful for my family. They are what really make everything happen. They let me hangout with my friends and give me my good education.
ReplyDeleteNerea- I think having Thanksgiving is great to have as a holiday because it reminds us that we need to be thankful on what we have. One of our family traditons is we make my grandmas home made recipys and all the family gets togeter. Then sometimes we go to cascade.
ReplyDeleteCooper- Yes because we learned from the native Americans how to survive on the land with what was available, and how to share the land. We cook a traditional meal, we all say what we are thankful for before dinner, we r ember those who are gone, definitively watch football. I am thankful for my family, friends, that I have good health, parents that love me and provide for me, sports, my teachers, my school, and many more.
ReplyDeleteAriana-I think that thanksgiving os a wonderful holiday and I'm glad that Lincoln made it. The only traditions I have is the food, but besides that I really don't have any thanksgiving traditions. I am thankful for my family, especially all of my sibblings, and that I live in America and get so many wonderful freedoms.
ReplyDeleteI think Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday. It is a day where everyone gets to think about what they are thankful for and eat a ton! Who does not love that? My family has a tradition were we buy our Christmas tree and decorate our house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my family, friends, a great education, my health, and good fortune.
ReplyDeleteHalle- I think that it was great president Lincoln made it a holiday. We need a day to give thanks for the things that we are truly thankful for. We have a tradition on my dad's side of the family. We go over to my uncle's house and eat lunch and after we have a turkey bowl, which is a football game against the whole family. Usually it gets so rough someone walks away with a broken rib. On my mom's side we eat dinner and at the end of dinner we pick names out of a hat to do secret santas up until christmas. I am thankful for my family. My family gives me lots of things that i need and they are always there for me to have fun
ReplyDeleteAnn- thanksgiving should be a national holiday because it was such a big part of our history as a nation. My family usually goes up to Spokane, WA, because that's where all of my dads family lives. I am thankful for all my family and cousins.
ReplyDeleteKendall- Yes i think that having a day dedicated to giving thanks is awesome. It lets people know that we do appreciate things more then they think! I don't really have any family traditions that i can think of. Usually we just go to my grandmas. I am thankful for my family, shelter and good health mostly!
ReplyDeleteAlly- I think its great that it became a national holiday, I love Thanksgiving! Every year my whole family usually goes to my grandma's house. There are so many things that I'm thankful for, but the big one would have to be friends and family.
ReplyDeleteRyan- Yes i think that lincion had the right to make thanksgiving a holiday because it is a great day in history and we should all thank him. No we dont have any special traditions or anything exept for the past two years my sister has come home from college. I am trully grateful for my family because they love me no matter what and i really love being around them.
ReplyDeletePeter- I think Abraham Lincoln was very smart to make thanksgiving a national holiday because it celebrates our founding as a nation. (Interesting article on the subject.) If Thanksgiving was a holiday, I do not know what life would be like without one day every year where you can eat as much as you want. My family has no traditions for Thanksgiving. What I'm thankful for is family and friends.
ReplyDeletegabby- i think that president lincoln did a great thing to make thanksgiving because thanksgiving is an awesome holiday where you dont have school and get to eat a lot of food. but thanksgiving isnt just that it also is having a time to thanks God for everything great that hes given us. i think it is important for people to realize how lucky they are. i cant really think of any thanksgiving traditions, so i guess my family doesnt have any that i am aware of.
ReplyDeletejosu- I think Abraham Lincoln was right to make Thanksgiving a holiday. My family usually goes to our cousins house in Weiser for Thanksgiving. We always have tons of food and after we eat we go outside and play football and basketball with my older cousins we don't get to see that often. Then we go back inside and watch football.
ReplyDeleteJACK- ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS TOTALLY RIGHT ABOUT MAKING THANKSGIVING A HOLIDAY. IT GIVES US A CHANCE TO BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE. AT THANKSGIVING, I GO HANG OUT WITH JOSU AND MY OTHER COUSINS IN WEISER. WE PLAY FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, AND BASEBALL, AND THERE IS ALWAYS A NFL GAME ON TO WATCH. THANKSGIVING IS THE BEST!
ReplyDeleteMadison- I think Abraham made a good decision to make Thanksgiving a holiday. In my family we always watch the Macy's Day Parade and eat lots of food! I am thankful for having a wonderful family and being able to ride and own my horse. Also, I am thankful for a good education which many people around the world don't have.
ReplyDeleteMarya- I think that Abraham Lincoln made a really good desicion making Thanksgiving a holiday. We usually go to my grandmas house and watch football and hang out. i am thankful for my family, friends, and justin bieber. We like to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade too.
ReplyDeleteAbe Lincoln made a great desicion. Without Thanksgiving, we wouldn't have anything to celerate if Abe Lincoln didn't make it a holiday. All we do is watch football and eat a thanksgiving dinner on my mom's side of the family. We watch a lot of football. Especially since Dallas plays every year on tha day.I am thanful for my family. Even though they get me mad on some days, I still love them.
ReplyDeleteAbe Lincoln made a great desicion. Without Thanksgiving, we wouldn't have anything to celerate if Abe Lincoln didn't make it a holiday. All we do is watch football and eat a thanksgiving dinner on my mom's side of the family. We watch a lot of football. Especially since Dallas plays every year on tha day.I am thanful for my family. Even though they get me mad on some days, I still love them.
ReplyDeleteMARCOS-Abe Lincoln made a great desicion. Without Thanksgiving, we wouldn't have anything to celerate if Abe Lincoln didn't make it a holiday. All we do is watch football and eat a thanksgiving dinner on my mom's side of the family. We watch a lot of football. Especially since Dallas plays every year on tha day.I am thanful for my family. Even though they get me mad on some days, I still love them.
ReplyDeleteZach- Thanksgiving stands for unity and family. Those things are part of the ideas America was founded on; to take that away would show that america didn't support those ideas. Abe Lincoln saw this and made it a national holiday. Thanksgiving is a time to watch football and being with family.
ReplyDeleteatticus- I think that President Lincoln was right to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. This is so because I think that it is importand to know when we first started making allies and preaty much had our first friends. Usualy on thanksgiving everybody comes over to our house and we all sit and talk and watch football. I am thankful for lots of things: my family, my friends,my education, my home.... I could go on and on. But most importandly I am thankful that God gave his only son to come die for us on the cross to save us from our sins.
ReplyDeleteBrooke~ Im really glad that we have Thanksgiving! Its an important time in history together but the holiday also brings families together and really reminds us to be thankful for all the little and big blessings in life! My family from Colorado always comes to spend Thanksgiving with us and we eat at the fancy dining room table every year haha. I'm thankful for a great education at st joes, all of my family, my friends, and God!!!
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