Thanksgiving in America : The Story of Thanksgiving, Part 4 (Reposted from 23 November 2009)

After a harsh winter, the Pilgrims had their first formal contact with the indigenous when on March 16, 1621 an Native American walked boldly into the middle of Plymouth Colony and declared in English, "Welcome, Englishmen!" He also asked if they had any beer! His name was Samoset, a subordinate chief of the Abenaki tribe in Maine, and he was was visiting Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoags. Samoset had learned English from English fishermen that came to fish off the coast of Maine. From Samoset, the colonists learned about the plague that had wiped out the Indians where they had established Plymouth Colony. After spending the night in the settlement, he came back two days later with Tisquantum, better known today as Squanto.

He spoke even better English than Samoset due to more unfortunate circumstances. Squanto had previously been captured several times by Englishmen. The last time he was sold into slavery for £20 in Spain but fortunately for him, he was taken by some local friars in order to be instructed in the Christian faith. He escaped to London where he lived for several years and participated in an expedition of the North American sea coast. Finally in 1619 he returned to his homeland in Maine only to discover that his tribe had been killed off by plague. He then went to Wampanoags and finally settled with the Pilgrims. He and Samoset would be the liason between the Pilgrims and the Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag nation. With their assistance, they established formal peace treaty between the two peoples.

 

For the Pilgrims, Tisquantum (or Squanto) was a Godsend. He helped them to recover from the harsh winter teaching them how to plant crops in the New World and where to best catch fish and eels. Around October of 1621 after a fruitful harvest thanks to the help of the Wampanoags, they held "The First Thanksgiving." The colonists didn't refer to this celebration as Thanksgiving because it was more of a harvest festival. For Puritans, thanksgiving was a day of prayer and worship, not revelry. The first real thankgiving was in 1623 with the arrival of new supplies and colonists from England. What Americans really celebrate today is rooted in the European harvest festival tradition.

 

Interesting links to learn more:

Wikipedia – Samoset

Wikipedia – Massasoit

Abenaki Indian tribe 

Wikipedia – Wampanoags

Wikipedia – Squanto

Thanksgiving in America : The Story of Thanksgiving, Part 3 (Reposted from 20 November 2009)

The Pilgrims had brought with them a shallop they had dismantled to fit onboard the Mayflower. It had also been damaged during the crossing and so its reparation and reassembling delayed exploration of the coast for two weeks. Finally exploration began under the leadership of Myles Standish, a soldier the Pilgrims met in Leiden and hired to assist them, and Christopher Jones, the Mayflower's master. They found an area of land deserted of all human life with vestiges of old buildings and recently cultivated fields. Artificial mounds which turned out to be Native American graves were discovered and in which they found baskets of maize which they took intending it for planting.

 

By this time in late November and early December, most of the passengers and crew were becoming seriously ill due to the cold and damp weather. Others were suffering from scurvy. Nonetheless, exploration continued. On December 16th of our modern calendar, they made their first contact with the native population. Their shallop landed in the territory of the Nauset people surprising the locals they saw on shore. After having passed the night ashore and hearing the cries of the Nauset during the night, they were met the next day by flying arrows from the natives. The Europeans shot back with their arms chasing them into the woods where the Nauset were not to be found. They would have no more contact with the native populations for several months.

 

Finally on December 21th the first landing party arrived in the area which would become the settlement of Plymouth. They cleared the remains of the village Patuxet which had belonged to the Wampanoag people and whose residents were wiped out by a plague three years earlier. Construction began immediately and the first common house of the Pilgrims was completed on January 19th.

 

Since the end of November many of the colonist had been sick and suffering with a horrible cough. Others were suffering from scurvey. Between the first landing and March of the following year, only 47 colonists out of 102 survived. Half of Mayflower's crew also died. John Carver, the governor died and William Bradford took over in his place. Mr. Bradford was the prime architect of the Mayflower Compact and his journal would later be published as Of Plymouth Plantation, the single authority on the history of the Pilgrims starting in 1608 until 1647.

 

Interesting links to learn to more :

Mayflower History – Myles Standish

Mayflower History – William Bradford

Wikipedia – Christopher Jones

Nauset History

List of Mayflower passengers who died in the winter of 1620–1621

Google books – Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford

Wikipedia – Mayflower Compact

 

Poem : The Thanksgivings (an Iroquois Indian Poem of Thanksgiving)

http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19276

The Thanksgivings

by Harriet Maxwell Converse

Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer

We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here
          to praise Him.
We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered
          that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth.
We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products
          to live on.
We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs
          for our lands.
We thank Him for all the animals on the earth.
We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming
          from them for us all.
We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows
          for our shelter.
We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder
          and lightning that water the earth.
We thank Him for the light which we call our oldest brother, the sun
          that works for our good.
We thank Him for all the fruits that grow on the trees and vines.
We thank Him for his goodness in making the forests, and thank
          all its trees.
We thank Him for the darkness that gives us rest, and for the kind Being
          of the darkness that gives us light, the moon.
We thank Him for the bright spots in the skies that give us signs,
          the stars.
We give Him thanks for our supporters, who had charge of our harvests.
We give thanks that the voice of the Great Spirit can still be heard
          through the words of Ga-ne-o-di-o.
We thank the Great Spirit that we have the privilege of this pleasant
          occasion.
We give thanks for the persons who can sing the Great Spirit's music,
          and hope they will be privileged to continue in his faith.
We thank the Great Spirit for all the persons who perform the ceremonies
          on this occasion.

Thanksgiving in America : Featured Podcast – What Thanksgiving Day Means to People in the US (VOA News – Special English)

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2009-11-22-voa2.cfm

Sharing some favorite memories, mixed with cold reality about the effects of the economic downturn.

Download MP3 HERE

Transcript of radio broadcast: 22 November 2009

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA. I'm Faith Lapidus. This Thursday is a day for families and friends to share a special holiday meal and think about what they are thankful for. This week on our program, we ask some people to share their favorite memories of Thanksgiving Day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Special English reporters June Simms and Dana Demange talked to people about the holiday. 

JIM OLDHAM: "My name is Jim Oldham and I'm from Nashville, Tennessee. I remember my father drove a bus and my mother was a waitress, and so we often didn't get to have Thanksgiving together. And I remember when I was about twelve, her work and his work permitted us all to do that. And we had brothers and sisters, and the traditional turkey and all the trimmings. We always had pumpkin pie, and if we were really lucky, a little bit of whipped cream on top. And it was just a wonderful day."

ANN GEIGER: "I'm Ann Geiger from Tucson, Arizona. Thanksgiving is special for our family because like so many families our adult children live around the country. And we usually get at least part of them together for Thanksgiving."

REPORTER: "And what is one of your fondest Thanksgiving Day memories?"

ANN GEIGER: "Oh, I think a recent Thanksgiving when my son and I had a turkey cook-off. He brined his turkey and I didn't brine mine. And we decided which one was the best."

REPORTER: "Who won?"

ANN GEIGER: "He did."

VOICE ONE:

Brining is a way to prepare meat in a salt solution, whether for a competitive "cook-off" or just any meal. Traditionally the meat served on Thanksgiving is turkey. The bird is usually served with side dishes including a mixture known either as stuffing or dressing.

Many families also bring out their finest table settings -- the "good china" -- for Thanksgiving.

JOEL UPTON: "My name is Joel Upton. I'm from Livingston, Tennessee. Thanksgiving at my family was always a time when brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, we all got together. And someone would bring different dishes. Someone would bring the sweet potatoes. Someone would bring the meat. Someone would bring the dressing. And we would all sort of combine the efforts to have a family Thanksgiving dinner and bring out the good china for that particular event.

And Thanksgiving also, in my early days when I was a child, the kids would all get to play, maybe we hadn't seen each other for a while. The men would always watch a football game on TV. And Thanksgiving was just a really, really special time. And, of course, we had in mind the Pilgrims and what it was all about too. But it was a family time."

VOICE ONE:

The Pilgrims first arrived in America in sixteen twenty. They were separatists from the Church of England and other settlers. The ship that brought the first group was the Mayflower.

An exploring party landed at Plymouth, in what became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The state is named after an American Indian tribe -- a recognition of the groups that came long before the Pilgrims.

The first Pilgrims established a village. Those who survived the first difficult years held harvest festivals and religious celebrations of thanksgiving. These events formed the basis of the holiday that Americans now celebrate.

But there are no official "rules" for a Thanksgiving meal. Some people like to find ways to do things a little differently.

BUTCH HUNSINGER: "Butch Hunsinger from Williamsport, Pennsylvania."

REPORTER: "The bird. What are you going to do differently this year?"

BUTCH HUNSINGER: "Try to shoot it myself, instead of go to the store to buy it. Go to the family cabin, and hunt on the family land and try to call in a turkey and fire away."

REPORTER: "And who's the better shot in the family?"

BUTCH: "Oh my son, by far."

REPORTER: "What about your worst Thanksgiving memory?"

BUTCH: "Worst…[Laughter] The worst was also the funnest, 'cause I got up early Thanksgiving day and we went to the Burwick Marathon, but it's a nine-mile road race. Just a crusher." [Laughter]

HUGUETTE MBELLA: "Hi, my name is Huguette Mbella. And I was born in Cameroon and grew up in France. And I live now in the United States in Washington, D.C. The whole concept of Thanksgiving was a little bit bizarre. In France, the main celebration is Christmas, not Thanksgiving."

REPORTER: "Can you think of one of your most fond Thanksgiving memories?"

HUGUETTE MBELLA: "I would say my first one. It was in New York. Suddenly the turkey comes on the table, and I was amazed by the size. It was huge! The first thing that came to my mind was actually that's a lot of food!"

ELIZABETH BRINKMAN: "My name is Elizabeth Brinkman and I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. It was always a day that my mother did all the cooking. And we had turkey and I got to chop the vegetables for the dressing. And we got out the good china."

GORDON GEIGER: "Gordon Geiger from Tucson, Arizona. We used to get together at my parents' house and all of my relatives would come over and we'd have a big dinner. And after dinner we would watch football games on the television.

I think it's probably really the most important holiday in the United States because it is a day that is not tied to a particular religion. It is not tied as much to commercial activities. It's more a reflection of the fact that we've had a good life and we appreciate it."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This Thanksgiving, Americans can be thankful that the Great Recession may be over. But the job market faces a long recovery.  Unemployment is now above ten percent. And if the underemployed are added, the rate is seventeen and a half percent. The underemployed are people no longer searching for work or only able to find part time jobs.

Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture released its "household food security" report for two thousand eight. The study found that families in seventeen million households had difficulty getting enough food at times during the year. That was almost fifteen percent -- up from eleven percent in two thousand seven. It was the highest level since the current surveys began in nineteen ninety-five.

The Agriculture Department says poverty is the main cause of food insecurity and hunger in the United States.

President Obama, in a statement, called the report unsettling. Especially troubling, he said, is that there were more than five hundred thousand families in which a child experienced hunger multiple times during the year.

He said the first task is to renew job growth, but added that his administration is taking other steps to prevent hunger. These include an increase in aid for people in the government's nutrition assistance program, commonly known as food stamps.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The Continental Congress wrote the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in seventeen seventy-seven, during the Revolutionary War. George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in seventeen eighty-nine. Here is part of what he wrote.

READER:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the twenty-sixth day of November next to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ...

VOICE ONE:

Sarah Josepha Hale was a magazine editor and writer who campaigned for a Thanksgiving holiday. That way, there would be "two great American national festivals," she said, the other being Independence Day on the Fourth of July.

In September of eighteen sixty-three, Sarah Josepha Hale appealed to President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had made proclamations in the spring of eighteen sixty-two and sixty-three. But these gave thanks for victories in battle during the Civil War.

Then came another proclamation on October third, eighteen sixty-three. It gave more general thanks for the blessings of the year. This is part of what it said:

READER:

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. ...

I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

VOICE ONE:

Lincoln's proclamation began a tradition. Presidents have issued Thanksgiving proclamations every year since eighteen sixty-three. All can be found on the Web site of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth.

In nineteen forty-one, Franklin Roosevelt was president. Roosevelt approved a resolution by Congress. It established, by law, the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

(MUSIC)

Our program was produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Faith Lapidus.  Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Cartoon : Not Into the Thanksgiving Spirit

To renege on something, you decide not to do something that you promised to do. In the cartoon, Babs states that we reneged on every single treaty. In other words, she’s accusing earlier Americans of not honoring the treaties they signed with the native peoples.

As a result, Babs states that Native American culture was decimated and that they were forced into poverty onto squalid reservations. If something is squalid, we say that it is dirty and unpleasant. It can also imply unpleasant conditions because it involves dishonest, illegal or immoral behavior. Many people who live in government housing projects (les cités) live in squalid living conditions.

Culture Spot: The Buffalo Soldiers (Video)

African-American soldiers have fought in American wars since colonial days. 180,000 Black soldiers served in the Civil War. The Buffalo Soldiers of the late 1800s took their name from the Native Americans..

Buffalo Soldiers
envoyé par josephboen

to abolish		abolir
to be up to a challenge		pouvoir relever un défi / le challenge
curly		frisé
to remind		rappeler
tenacity		la détermination, la ténacité
cornered		piégé
to affix		attacher
a will		une volonté, une détermination
a chief warrant officer		un adjudant-chef
to devote oneself to		se consacrer à
through		à travers, par
to contend with		affronter
purpose		le but
to disdain		mépriser, dédaigner
a lesser rank		un rang de moindre importance

pride		une fierté
to swell up		enfler
to prove		démontrer, prouver
worth		la valeur

Learn more about Buffalo Soldiers at BuffaloSoldiers.com

General George Armstrong Custer