Happy Thanksgiving!

[Ron Thorne]

I hope that all of my friends at Jazz Corner are able to relax and savor those things for which they should be thankful tomorrow. I offer no apologies when I say that I've grown very tired of this day being referred to as "Turkey Day" for obvious reasons.

Among the many things for which I'll give thanks tomorrow, not necessarily in any order:

• That I'll be eating a slice of the scrumptuous Pumpkin Pies which Patti is preparing in our kitchen at this time.

• That I was smart enough to marry Patti, and that she's tolerated me over these nearly 39 years of marriage.

• That we have three of the most incredibly handsome, talented, sensitive and loving children imaginable.

• That we have two smart, beautiful, loving grandchildren.

• That Patti and I are healthy, and able to share Thanksgiving with her parents, also healthy at 83 years of age.

• That I'm still playing and teaching music on a regular basis.

• That my discovery of jazz in 1958 led to a lifelong journey of pleasure, outreach and further discovery.

• That I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends, online and off.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends at Jazz Corner.

Camai~

Ron

[Cem]

Let me be the first Turk(ey) in wishing my American brothers and sisters on JCS a peaceful, joyous, gluttenous, stupendous Thanksgiving!

[Ron Thorne]

JCS? Whoa, bro. You've regressed a tad, huh? Just giving you a gentle ribbing, Cem.

Have a great day, my friend.

[BFrank]

You're much too eloquent, Ron.

Have a wonderful day, tomorrow.

[Monte Smith]

Tomorrow I shall put on my big black hat and buckle shoes and sit down with the local tribes for a meal of maize and forest bird. That's if I can get my lazy ass off the couch and away from the football.

Give thanks everbody!

[Valerie]

Originally posted by Ron Thorne
I hope that all of my friends at Jazz Corner are able to relax and savor those things for which they should be thankful tomorrow. I offer no apologies when I say that I've grown very tired of this day being referred to as "Turkey Day" for obvious reasons.

Among the many things for which I'll give thanks tomorrow, not necessarily in any order:

• That I'll be eating a slice of the scrumptuous Pumpkin Pies which Patti is preparing in our kitchen at this time.

• That I was smart enough to marry Patti, and that she's tolerated me over these nearly 39 years of marriage.

• That we have three of the most incredibly handsome, talented, sensitive and loving children imaginable.

• That we have two smart, beautiful, loving grandchildren.

• That Patti and I are healthy, and able to share Thanksgiving with her parents, also healthy at 83 years of age.

• That I'm still playing and teaching music on a regular basis.

• That my discovery of jazz in 1958 led to a lifelong journey of pleasure, outreach and further discovery.

• That I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends, online and off.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends at Jazz Corner.

Camai~

Ron

Oh, Ron, after reading the above, if I didn't have my own life, I'd certainly give enormous thanks for yours!!! Awesome blessings!! Fortunately, I have my own to be very grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

[Ron Thorne]

Valerie, Patti and I are so glad to have met you ... finally. Have a wonderful day tomorrow, and best of luck in all things in your future. We're enormously thankful to count you among our friends.

[john williams]

Happy Thanksgiving Ron and everyone else on Jazz Corner.

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia and I was wondering what the origin of it was.
Can anyone let me know cos I have often been curious about it?

[cookie]

Thanks for the thread, Ron! I quite agree with you: "Thanksgiving" not "Turkey Day."

On another bbs, I came up with a list of 25 things I was thankful for. I could've listed more, but I just wanted to list 25. It was a good exercise. Things have been strange here with the cat dying and all. I needed to take a step back and count my blessings.

My father and stepmother were in a car accident last night on their way to visit for the holiday. We are *very* thankful that nobody was hurt and that they got excellent service from AAA. It happened about two hours into their trip, so they were able to get themselves and the smashed up car back home. We're all bummed about it though---we were looking forward to spending the time together. I guess they'll try to stop by the house on their way to Disneyworld this Christmas (Christmas in Disneyworld is one of my father's lifetime dreams!).

Again, I'm just thankful they were alright and though we'll miss them at the table, we'll carry them in our hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the JazzCorner family from everyone in my family!

[Ron Thorne]

JBW, Thanksgiving is solely an American holiday, as you probably know, the origins of which are legendary.

The simple version is that we Americans give thanks on this day for being able to exist on this continent with ample food and other necessary provisions, but it harkens back to the day of the pilgrims who came to America with virtually nothing. Native Americans were central in the first Thanksgiving, but, not surprisingly, this holiday has changed dramatically from its origins, as with many things.

Here are a couple of links which may shed some light on our Thanksgiving holiday.

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibi...ving/main.html

http://teacher.scholastic.com/thanksgiving/

[john williams]

Thanks Ron.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Tomorrow Rita and our two kids and I head for my folks' house (they're both in their 80s) for our annual feast, along with my brother, his wife, my sister, her husband, their two daughters, and the oldest daughter's husband. However, we've just learned that my brother-in-law is having complications from an operation and is even now in the hospital, so we'll have to see what actually transpires.

This year I have something very special to be thankful for. I've had few regrets in my life, but the biggest has been that I've played almost no part in raising my daughter from my first marriage. She was two when her mother and I split for the second and final time. Contact with me was always discouraged by her mother. I last saw her 25 years ago, when she was 8. This year, we reestablished contact with each other, have had several wonderful conversations, and next month I fly to Philadelphia to meet her again. And her husband, and the five (!!!) grandchildren I've recently discovered I have. And I'm very thankful for all that!

[Tom Storer]

That's beautiful, SquareDance!

Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Europe, of course, so Americans just pick a handy weekend around that time. A friend of ours who is a fantastic cook and likes to entertain has a long-standing tradition of holding a Thanksgiving weekend at her place outside Paris - since last year she's been living in Chartres, a stone's throw from the cathedral - to which she invites anywhere from 10 to 25 guests. We have Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday evening, several of us stay the night, and then we start in again on Sunday brunch and keep chatting, eating and drinking until we all have to go home. We've done Thanksgiving this way for the last 20 years or so, and it's on for this weekend. For my 16-year-old son, for whom this will be his 16th Thanksgiving weekend, this is what Thanksgiving is all about.

[Gordon B]

Originally posted by Ron Thorne
JBW, Thanksgiving is solely an American holiday, as you probably know, the origins of which are legendary.

Ron, I also enjoyed your first post, which was completely within the spirit of the American Thanksgiving. Your outlook on life has obviously enabled you to be a happy person.
However, Thanksgiving is not a uniquely American holiday.
from web-holidays.com

Thanksgiving in Canada

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

Harvest celebrations have been around a long time. Ever since the very first harvest, about 2,000 years ago, people have given thanks for a prosperous bounty. The first formal Canadian Thanksgiving was held just over 40 years prior to the pilgrims landing in Massachusetts. An English explorer named Martin Frobisher had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America and he did celebrate a harvest feast. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving.

In 1957, Parliament announced that on the second Monday in October that Thanksgiving would be "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."

During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. There are many similarities between the two Thanksgivings such as the cornucopia and the pumpkin pie. According to one Canadian resource the Canadian table usually features venison and waterfowl over turkey. However, a professor from Durham College tells us that in Southern Ontario eating waterfowl or venison at Thanksgiving has never happened and that the turkey or/and ham is the featured food. Conversely, Lee adamantly states that when he was young "wild duck/goose was always served for Thanksgiving and, if they were fortunate venison as well! This was a common practice in that area at that time."

[Captain Hate]

Gordon beat me to it. Mrs Hate and I were in Quebec City last year for their Thanksgiving, strictly by accident. It was nice to celebrate it twice.

[jesus marion joseph]

I, too, am thankful for many things, not least of which is my wife of 8 years, Jennifra.

JBW, I'm not sure if they still do it, but the local Wampanoag tribe used to crash the Thanksgiving day parade in Plymouth ("America's Hometown") every year and hold a "Day of Mourning". A few years back it got ugly and about 30 people were arrested and charged with misdemeanors. I'll see if I can find a link to it.

Mrs. jmj and me spent a Canandian Thanksgiving in Montreal once. If I recall, it falls on what we celebrate in the States as Columbus Day, or it did that year, anyway.

[jesus marion joseph]

For a cursory blurb about the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims, click here.

[patricia]

Originally posted by Captain Hate
Gordon beat me to it. Mrs Hate and I were in Quebec City last year for their Thanksgiving, strictly by accident. It was nice to celebrate it twice.

Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October. That way we've forgotten about the turkey leftovers by the time we have turkey again at Christmas.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my friends to the south.
But, today I find myself thankful that I'm still up and around and that I haven't lost any of my friends or relatives this past year, but have gained a few new friends. This was the year that my first grandchild was born, reminding me that time passes and I don't have unlimited supplies of it. So, bittersweet. A time of reflection.

[claude]

Originally posted by jesus marion joseph
Mrs. jmj and me spent a Canandian Thanksgiving in Montreal once. If I recall, it falls on what we celebrate in the States as Columbus Day, or it did that year, anyway.

It does fall on the same day as Columbus day.

We don't have a holiday today but a lot of people, including some of the people I work with, take today off to stay home and watch football.

Happy thanksgiving!

[Cem]

For me, its history and religious aspect aside, Thanksgiving makes sense. Expressing gratitude for what I have and what nature has provided, seems a good thing. It's the only holiday here in which I participate, in body & soul.

[Pete C]

Harvest Festivals in Ancient Cultures

[Uli]

[SinginSumo]

JBW - Let me invite you to share in the festivities. There will be a place at the table set for you on the first Thanksgiving that you can be in the States. Bloody oath, mate!

(Have you ever visited the US?)

******************************************************************

Wonderful posts from everyone on this thread!

[tippy]

Last I checked, Canada is in "America."

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

[tippy]

I'm also thankful that Thanksgiving is typically a four-day holiday weekend, the only one on the books. Give thanks!!!

[Tom Storer]

Originally posted by Gordon B
from web-holidays.com

[...]During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada.[...]

Gordon, that part has to be wrong. The Thanksgiving celebration as we know it wasn't established as an annual feast with common themes until the 19th century, after it was officially proclaimed by Lincoln.

It used to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November. FDR moved it back to the next-to-last Thursday, in order to make for a longer Christmas shopping season. The public thought this was just too cynical, apparently, and there was an uproar. He moved it back again. Thanksgiving finally became a legal holiday in 1941, and Congress compromised on the date by making it the fourth Thursday in November, whether that's the last or the next-to-last.

Just why they chose a Thursday to begin with, I've never known.

[Mike P]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Today we have 14 family members coming here (San Clemente, CA) for dinner. Our family has many differences, but today we will put them all aside.

We have so much to be thankful for. God bless all of you.

[tippy]

Having Thanksgiving on a Thursday is a stroke of genius. I think the reason Thanksgiving is so popular is because it's on a Thursday (enforced midweek holiday break) and because everyone celebrates it...it's not a sectarian thing like Christmas, Hannukah or Easter, etc.

[steve(thelil)]

Thanksgiving is not only about being thankful but committing to living in a manner that reflects it.


I just sent Ron five bucks.

[Chris A]

• HAPPY THANKSGIVING
  TO ALL AT THE CORNER!!