Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2010-11-24 09:48 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2010-11-24 09:48 am
Entry tags:
Cultural Appreciation, Week XII [Wednesday, Periods 4 & 5]
Class today met in the Danger Shop, which was programmed to look like a dorm common room, filled with couches and fluffy chairs, and a HUGE television set.
"Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival," Ghanima began, once the students had all found seats, "traditionally celebrated as a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, and while it may have been religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday."
"The precise historical origin of the holiday is disputed. Although Americans commonly believe that the first Thanksgiving happened in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, there is strong evidence for earlier celebrations by Spanish explorers in Florida in 1565. Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. By the mid 20th century, the final Thursday in November had become the customary day of Thanksgiving in most U.S. states. It was not until December 26, 1941, however, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after pushing two years earlier to move the date earlier to give the country an economic boost, signed a bill into law with Congress, making Thanksgiving a national holiday and settling it to the fourth -- but not final -- Thursday in November."
"In the United States, certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Firstly, baked or roasted turkey is usually the featured item on any Thanksgiving feast table," Ghanima said. "So much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as 'Turkey Day' Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. All of these are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived."
"However, the United States is not the only country which has a Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day in Canada, or Jour de l'Action de grâce, occurring on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although the original act of Parliament references God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is also celebrated in a secular manner."
"In the Netherlands, many of the Pilgrims who would end up at the Plymouth Plantation had resided in the city of Leiden from 1609–1620, many of whom had recorded their birth, marriages and deaths at the Pieterskerkchurch. To commemorate this, a non-denominational Thanksgiving Day service is held each year on the morning of the American Thanksgiving Day in the Pieterskerk, a Gothic church in Leiden, to commemorate the hospitality the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World."
"In the West Indian island of Grenada, there is a national holiday known as Thanksgiving Day which is celebrated on October 25. Even though it bears the same name, and is celebrated at roughly the same time as the American and Canadian versions of Thanksgiving, this holiday is unrelated to either of those celebrations. Instead the holiday marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983, in response to the deposition and execution of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop."
"Now, I'm not going to feed you an entire turkey today, as those of you staying here for the holiday will be fed by the Student Council. However, I do have pumkin pie cupcakes to snack on while we watch a movie."
[OCD up!]
"Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival," Ghanima began, once the students had all found seats, "traditionally celebrated as a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, and while it may have been religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday."
"The precise historical origin of the holiday is disputed. Although Americans commonly believe that the first Thanksgiving happened in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, there is strong evidence for earlier celebrations by Spanish explorers in Florida in 1565. Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. By the mid 20th century, the final Thursday in November had become the customary day of Thanksgiving in most U.S. states. It was not until December 26, 1941, however, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after pushing two years earlier to move the date earlier to give the country an economic boost, signed a bill into law with Congress, making Thanksgiving a national holiday and settling it to the fourth -- but not final -- Thursday in November."
"In the United States, certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Firstly, baked or roasted turkey is usually the featured item on any Thanksgiving feast table," Ghanima said. "So much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as 'Turkey Day' Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. All of these are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived."
"However, the United States is not the only country which has a Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day in Canada, or Jour de l'Action de grâce, occurring on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although the original act of Parliament references God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is also celebrated in a secular manner."
"In the Netherlands, many of the Pilgrims who would end up at the Plymouth Plantation had resided in the city of Leiden from 1609–1620, many of whom had recorded their birth, marriages and deaths at the Pieterskerkchurch. To commemorate this, a non-denominational Thanksgiving Day service is held each year on the morning of the American Thanksgiving Day in the Pieterskerk, a Gothic church in Leiden, to commemorate the hospitality the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World."
"In the West Indian island of Grenada, there is a national holiday known as Thanksgiving Day which is celebrated on October 25. Even though it bears the same name, and is celebrated at roughly the same time as the American and Canadian versions of Thanksgiving, this holiday is unrelated to either of those celebrations. Instead the holiday marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983, in response to the deposition and execution of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop."
"Now, I'm not going to feed you an entire turkey today, as those of you staying here for the holiday will be fed by the Student Council. However, I do have pumkin pie cupcakes to snack on while we watch a movie."
[OCD up!]
Re: MOOOOOOOOOVIE!