Thanksgiving day will be celebrated on Nov. 25, 1999. This holiday is celebrated the last Thursday of November. The holiday started hundreds of years ago when the Pilgrim left England and land at Plymouth Rock. They left England because they wished to worship in their way not in the King's faith. They were a plain people who wore black dresses and black clothes with large white colors. They believed tha all men should be treated as equals and loved. They believed that through hard work and belief in God they would prevail.

It was there beliefs that saved their lives many times over. They arrived in a country that was still wilderness. The main inhabitants were trappers and Indians. They traded with the Indians and treated them fairly as well taught them their beliefs that God had made all men and therefore they were brothers no matter what color their skin. Then Indians in return showed them how to build homes that would survive the harsh winters and what crops to plant and how to plant them. The Indians gave them a new crop they called maize (today it is called corn). This was planted by digging a hole and dropping a dead fish and a grain of corn into the hole then covering it. They also taught them how to grow squash and pumpkins. The Pilgrims had no idea what fruit and other plants could be used to for food but the Indians showed them the other wild plants such as grapes and berries they could use to supplement their meals. They taught them to dry these fruits and vegetables as well as meat for the winter months.

The Pilgrims were so pleased with their crops and having so much to be thankful for they invited the Indians for a dinner of Thanksgiving. The Indians brought wild game which the Pilgrim wives cooked and they also baked bread and pies to share with their Indian brothers and sisters. They thanked God for their Indian friends who had taught them how to survive and who shared their knowledge of planting and hunting with them.

Every year all the State and Federal businesses close to celebrate this holiday. It is celebrated with a large meal of either turkey and stuffing or a baked ham (some families prepare both). Candied sweet potatoes (a yellow potatoe baked in brown sugar, butter, and sometimes marshmallows on the top), are served as well as mashed potates, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, and pumpkin pie for dessert. These are the foods that the pilgrims shared with their Indian friends so it has become the traditional meal for this holiday. It also a time to be thankful for the right to practice your religious beliefs without having to worry about a government interferring or saying you must believe as they believe. I personally find it a time to be thankful for all my blessing and having loved one close.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM AMERICA