J.M.J.

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Hello, Friend!  Nannie here !

Little Finney just loves Thanksgiving time, or as he would say, “Thanksgivin’ time!”  Finney knows that lots of celebrations begin during this last week of November, and that Christmastime begins right after Thanksgiving!

This wonderful Thanksgiving-time of year nicely prepares us for the birth of Our Little Lord, Jesus!

As we reflect on all we have to be thankful for, our minds are diverted (and thank God for this!) from some of the challenges and struggles that tempt us away from trusting that God’s Grace will always provide.  We all know that the world has much suffering and hardship occurring at every moment, but we also know that God hears our every prayer.  Given that all that is good comes from God, we know we can count on Him and be thankful to Him.    And every year, at Christmastime we celebrate the birth of The Child Jesus, Who changed everything…our Redeemer and our Savior.

Finney loves to talk about Christmas, but Thanksgivin’ happens first and it is only a few days away, and, there are really some fun facts to know!

At Thanksgiving time we can find ourselves in a much better mindset if we truly do reflect on all we have to be grateful for…Family, Friends and Blessings too numerous to mention.

 Of course, we all are familiar with the “Thanksgiving Story.”  One of the primary sources of the story that we have come to know is from a letter, written by Edward Winslow, to a friend about the rejoicing together in “a special manner, ” that occurred in 1621, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Edward Winslow praised God for the “good increase” in the harvest.  The letter explains that after the harvest had been “gotten in”, there was a desire to “rejoice together” in a “special manner.”  Mr. Winslow also tells us “many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation (at Plymouth) and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

“Today’s national Thanksgiving celebration is a blend of two traditions:  the New England custom of rejoicing after a successful harvest, based on ancient English harvest festivals; and the Puritan Thanksgiving, a solemn religious observance combining prayer and feasting.”  (www.plimoth.org)

 

Around 1789, “George Washington called for an official celebratory ‘day of public thanksgiving and prayer.’  While Congress overwhelmingly agreed to Washington’s suggestion, the holiday did not yet become an annual event.”  It wasn’t until 1863, “expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln announces that the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on November 26, 1863.”  And that is why we celebrate our Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in November.  (www.history.com)

Well said, about Thanksgivin’, at http://www.plimoth.org … “Despite modern-age turmoil — and perhaps, even more so, because of it  — gathering together in grateful appreciation for a Thanksgiving celebration” with Family and Friends “is a deeply meaningful and comforting annual ritual to most Americans.  The need to connect with loved ones and to express our gratitude is at the heart of all this feasting, prayerful thanks, recreation, and nostalgia for a simpler time.

And somewhere in the bustling activity of every November’s Thanksgiving is the abiding National memory of a moment in Plymouth, nearly 400 years ago, when two distinct cultures, on the brink of profound and irrevocable change, shared an autumn feast.”

In regards to Thanksgiving and Ireland…                                                                     An article written by John Fay can be found at http://www.irishcentral.com.  Mr. Fay tells us that in Ireland there is no “Thanksgiving Day,” but “many Americans here (in Ireland) shift their celebrations from Thursday to Saturday, when they have the time needed to prepare the dinner.  Also, for those who don’t have family here (in Ireland), a Saturday celebration makes it easier to invite over a few Irish friends to take part in Thanksgiving.  (Just because it’s not a holiday here (in Ireland), doesn’t mean Irish people will turn down a nice big dinner and a couple glasses of wine.)

In regards to a turkey, Mr. Fay tells us they have to be ordered in advance, and that the Americans in Ireland seem to be loyal to having Thanksgiving-time turkey!

Mr. Fay finishes his article with these words, “Who doesn’t need a day to take a time out from all the hustle and bustle?  A day with no card, no gifts, no nothing other than time”  Time to reflect?”  What’s not to like?”

In order to close on a truly Irish Thanksgiving note…it appears, as is told in an article by John Cusack, also at http://www.irishcentral.com, that in February of 1621 (the February before the Fall of 1621 that we have been speaking of), “According to the ‘Observant Citizen,’ a columnist for the Boston Post, the Pilgrims in the winter of their first year were starving and faced the end of their project to colonize the new land when a ship arrived from overseas bearing the much needed food.  It turns out, from records at the Massachusetts Historical Society, that the wife of one of the prominent Plymouth brethren was the daughter of a Dublin merchant and that it was he who chartered the vessel, loaded it with food and dispatched it to Plymouth.

Thus, these records give “the Irish a fair claim to saving Thanksgiving!”  The name of the article?  Well…”How the Irish saved Thanksgiving.”  Thomas Cahill (author of How the Irish Saved Civilization would be cheering!  As are we!  Nice to know we played some part that had to do with making sure that great celebration happened,  almost 400 years ago!

God bless you and thank you for stopping by!

P.S. from Nannie…computer technology has been thwarting me these last several days…;)