Written by Pearlrose Nwuke
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in countries like the United States, Canada, Grenada,St Lucia and Liberia. In the United States Thanksgiving occurs every last Thursday in the month of November. According to historians,Thanksgiving first started in 1621. Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the harvest and other blessings of the year. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and give thanks for the things you have.Thanksgiving 2021 in the US occurred on Thursday,November 25.
Thanksgiving was later declared usually by governors or priests, President George Washington, the First US president declared thanksgiving during his tenure as General of the Continental Army. When George Washington became President, he declared the first national day of thanksgiving in 1789. Presidents that succeeded him ignored the holiday. President Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States established thanksgiving as a national holiday during the Civil War.
The first Thanksgiving is said to have began when the Mayflower pilgrims that founded Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts had a dinner with the Wampanoag. The Mayflower pilgrims were passengers who boarded the Mayflower to settle in Plymouth Colony in 1620. They were also one of the first puritans to settle in America during the Great Puritan Migration.The Wampanoag was a Native Colony.
Historians argue that many of the dishes back then were cooked using Native American Spices and cooking methods as sugar supply of the Mayflower had significantly reduced.A lot of delicacies enjoyed now such as pies, cakes and other desserts were not featured in the first Thanksgiving dinner as suggested by Historians.
In modern times, Thanksgiving is usually celebrated with turkey, stuffing ,pies such as pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, apple pie etc. Other cultures in the US celebrate the feast with a little twist using delicacies from their own countries. On Wednesday, the Redeemed Christian Church Of God, Livingspring in Morgantown, WV celebrated Thanksgiving with some delicacies such as Jollof rice, Fried rice, Ayamase Stew, Efo riro , Ewedu, Turkey ,Pies etc.It was a feast to not miss.
