What are You Thankful For?

“Thanksgiving”
What does it mean to you?

Is it just another holiday to eat until your unconscious or do you have a guilty/thankful conscience that takes over and you volunteer at a soup kitchen somewhere, or are you more primitive and sit in a tree stand somewhere making memories with your children that your father and grandfather’s taught to you?
What is the reason behind “Thanksgiving”?

THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Proclamation 118 – Thanksgiving Day 1864  http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=69998
In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance for whence it originally was founded on.  

Instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends.
Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous
with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621. Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird—whether roasted, baked or deep-fried—on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate. This is a great way to give back to your local communities.  Its easy to be Thankful for what you have when serving others that don’t that much.  Check out your local VA or Community board or Homeless shelters to see how you can help.