Thanksgiving is one of the oldest commonly practiced holidays and can be traced back to the Mesopotamian harvest festival, Akitu. In North America it can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation. In Canada the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1578 by an explorer named Martin Frobisher. He held his Thanksgiving in gratitude for surviving the long journey, not for the harvest. In England, before 1536 there were 92 church holidays and 52 Sundays that people were required to go to church or take off work. They often had to pay for expensive celebrations on these holidays with money they didn't have. However, in 1536, during the reign of Henry VII, there was an English Reformation and the holidays were reduced to 27, but some puritans got rid of all of them, including Christmas and Easter. With the holidays gone, the English set up days of fasting and days of feasting to please or repay God.
Many different cultures and religions combined to get us where we are today, and we are still growing and evolving as a culture. No matter what you believe in, Thanksgiving is a day to remind us of how much we have. It is a day to get together with the people you love and feast on delicious food and fulfilling conversation. It is a day to thank each other for being in our lives. I hope all of you have a wonderful day full of feasting and comfort and happiness. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
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