Time arrives to give thanks
Student plans follow traditional lines
by Nick Nance, managing editor

    Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but not all Americans know this.

   The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock Dec. 11, 1620. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 people who sailed on the Mayflower.

   Despite early struggles, the harvest of 1621 was the most memorable one.

   The remaining colonists decided to celebrate the harvest with a feast.

   The Pilgrims invited 91 Indians who had helped them survive the first year.

   Historians believe the Pilgrims would not have survived without the help of the Indians. They helped the Europeans, and then got slaughtered by them.

   Despite the history of Thanksgiving, TCC students have many memories and traditions for the holiday.

   “On Thanksgiving Day I always go to my grandparents’ lake house for dinner. We eat all day long,” Mallory Brady of SE Campus said.

   Darrell Schultz, adjunct instructor of visual arts on NE Campus, has one particular holiday that sticks in his mind.

   “My most memorable Thanksgiving was probably 1999 when I was in Lake City, Fla. I had the flu and was feeding the homeless. I was put in charge of serving collard greens. The flu combined with the smell made for an interesting Thanksgiving,” he said.

   “I try to serve others and express my gratitude to God by giving to those less fortunate than myself,” Schultz said. “I take my family to a homeless shelter to help those in need.”

   Food has always been an important part of this celebration.

   The term “turkey” was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl. There was no pumpkin pie, milk, cider, potatoes or butter in this first feast.

   The first feast included fish, berries, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

   The potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous.

   “Sweet potatoes are my favorite part of Thanksgiving. When I was a kid I never got to eat sweets, so it was the only thing my mom would let me eat,” Malia Hubbard, SE Campus student, said.

   The thanksgiving feast was not repeated the following year. It was not until June 1676 that another day of thanksgiving was proclaimed.

   Michael Anderson, SE Campus student, is looking forward to this year’s celebration.

   “Last year, I had McDonalds for Thanksgiving, so I’m glad I’m getting to have a good dinner,” he said.

   October 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga.

   George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. There was displeasure among the colonies because many of them felt the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday.

   Later, President Thomas Jefferson voiced opposition to having a day of thanksgiving.

   It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving.

   Hale’s obsession with a national holiday in honor of the Indian/Pilgrim celebration became a reality when President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving.

   Every president proclaimed Thanksgiving after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt. He made it one week earlier in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season.

   The public became very upset over the president’s actions.

   The flack caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years after the change.

   In 1941 Congress finally sanctioned Thanksgiving as a legal holiday to fall on the fourth Thursday in November.

   Modern Thanksgiving has been transformed to a time to be with friends and family.

   Sometimes the celebration is held early for family members who must work on Thanksgiving.

   “I am working that weekend, so we are celebrating a day early. We are having dinner on Wednesday in Acton; then I have to leave because I’m working the next day,” South Campus student Scott Beatty said.

   Most Americans spend hundreds of dollars and many hours to travel for the holiday.

   “I’m going to spend time with my aunt and then maybe drive to Houston after Thanksgiving,” Alicia Dary, South Campus student, said.

   Somewhere along the way it has also become tradition to attempt to eat one’s body weight in food.

   Priscilla Galvan, NW Campus student, plans to do just that.

   “I will be spending time with loved ones, the people I’m thankful for every day. Oh, and pigging out on the food,” she said.