Monday, October 13, 2014

A Day of Thanks


An empty cornucopia made of bread, prepared for a Thanksgiving meal, picture from Wikipedia (may be filled with harvest vegetables and fruit)

Thanksgiving Day or Thanksgiving (for short) is a holiday primarily celebrated in North America (composed of Canada as well as the United States of America (USA) (or United States or U.S. for short). Canadians celebrate it as a holiday on the second Monday in October whereas Americans do on the fourth Thursday of November.

There are different histories and celebrations marking this day between Canada and the United States: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving for more information.

A family saying grace, picture from Wikipedia

Thanksgiving, A day of giving thanks, signifies a day of gratitude of the current harvest as well as from the previous year. It is a time to give thanks for the blessings, the abundance, the cornucopia, bestowed in our lives. See yesterday's post, A List of Thanks: http://xpressyouressence.blogspot.ca/2014/10/a-list-of-thanks.html

Traditional Thanksgiving meal, picture from Wikipedia (below right)

What is an expected meal at Thanksgiving you ask? A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of this cornucopia of food: turkey filled with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, yams (also known as sweet potatoes), corn and other harvest vegetables such as squash; dessert is mentioned below.

Oven-roasted turkey, picture from Wikipedia

Turkey, being the centre of attention of the Thanksgiving meals plays a major role in its preparation. It may be glazed with its own juices later used for the making of gravy, or laced with bacon strips on top (the way my mother used to), it may have no stuffing or lots of stuffing inside, though usually the latter. And both turkey and stuffing comes in umpteen recipes.

Pumpkin pie, picture from Wikipedia

Pumpkin pie and/or other pies such as apple pie as a dessert may be served with or without whipped cream or ice cream. Dinner may be served with wine, apple cider, or cranberry juice as an example.

Are you celebrating or have you ever celebrated Thanksgiving?

18 comments:

  1. We remember the Canadian thanksgiving because we used to live there. But we don't really celebrate it anymore. I do love pumpkin pie, though.

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    1. Oh too bad Lexi, especially if you love pumpkin pie, unless of course you can get it where you are now! ;) <3

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  2. Happy Thanksgiving :) I love this holiday! Great post to fall into the gratitude.

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    1. Thanks Ashley and hope you had a good Thanksgiving too if you celebrated it! ;) <3

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  3. Wish we could celebrate it where I am!

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    1. Can you in your own way? Make up your own traditions if you need to Michelle! ;) <3

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  4. Happy Thanks giving Day. I have heard about it a lot. Today I came to know about its significance.Thanks Elly for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Usha and I'm sure there's a lot of holidays you celebrate in India that I would love to learn about likewise. ;) <3

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  5. Born in Australia, I moved to England after 45 years, and have lived there ever since. Neither country celebrates Thanksgiving, but it sound good. The food is the perfect way to celebrate.

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    1. Oh too bad you don't celebrate it Francene as it is a great holiday and holiday feast, at least if you have the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner that is! And isn't food always a great way to celebrate? In fact, don't all celebrations have food available, whether on a small scale or a large scale? ;) <3

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  6. mmmm pumpkin pie... I'm drooling now! We dont really celebrate the holiday at my house with a big feast. But we do have a special meal in it's honor.

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    1. Marie, I can understand you drooling over pumpkin pie, especially if heated in the oven and/or dolloped with whipped cream! ;) It's nice to celebrate even with a special meal rather than a traditional big feast. Might be better in more ways than one! ;)

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  7. I have lived in the United States all my life. I have celebrated Thanksgiving each year of my life. In my family it was a time of reunion and celebration. I love turkey and could eat it every day (well, almost every day).. Pumpkin pie, not so much, but apple pie is a good second choice. Alana

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    1. That's great Alana that you are able to celebrate Thanksgiving annually with family. It's good that there are a variety of choices to offer people whether pumpkin or apple pie! ;) <3

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  8. Happy Thanksgiving - hmmmm Pumpkin pie - yum :)

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    1. Thanks Victoria! Yes, homemade pumpkin pie is really yum, yum! ;) <3

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  9. Love Thanksgiving here in New York. Autumn is my favorite time of year: apples, pumpkins, changing colors of the leaves on the trees and gathering with friends and family.

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    1. Yes, I bet it is pretty there Barbara, especially in Central Park! ;) It is indeed a beautiful time of year. :) <3

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