Only Americans and Canadians do Thanksgiving. It is meaningless in the rest of the world, including Palestine although no doubt the many American/Israeli illegal settlers would be celebrating, as did the early colonists in the Americas.
As a celebration, Thanksgiving has a lot of potential, because giving thanks for what we have is important and doing it in a collective sense, brings everyone together, but for most Western countries Christmas serves that purpose, and many cultures have versions of the same sort of thing.
bugmenot
November 25, 2016 7:59 pm
Actually, Thanksgiving is a much older European tradition, and did not first originate when the Pilgrims had managed to cross the Atlantic, and survive their first winter.
“Erntedankfest”, (literally, “Harvest-thanks(giving) -celebration (or festiva)l”), as it is known in German, is commemorated in many churches on the first Sunday in October. It was a very widespread European custom, which the pilgrims took with them. Subsequently, in America, it has been greatly embellished upon, and developed it’s own unique (esp. culinary) customs and traditions.
It’s also stil practiced in England: In Britain it’s called Harvest Day, although it’s a lot less of a big deal. While we usually take a few non-perishables down to our local church and enter our autumn vegetables in competitions, Thanksgiving in North America is a much more plentiful and extravagant affair.
lonely rico
November 26, 2016 10:20 am
> rosross Only Americans and Canadians do Thanksgiving.
Canadian Thanksgiving is earlier than in the USA, this year on Oct 10.
By November 24 there’s not much left to be thankful for except the frozen grapes/apples and snow-covered fields.
Maghlawatan
November 27, 2016 3:57 pm
Amazing new TV show in Israel where a programme looks at other Israelis who are not Jewish
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/.premium-1.754739
“Hamu’s new show on Educational TV, “Between the Lines,” originates from much more comfortable surroundings. On the show he leads an open discussion with Israeli teenagers about a range of subjects in the Muslim world. One program dealt with the Arab Spring, another with Israeli Arabs. Others covered the Golden Age of Andalusia, and the Jews of Iraq. Despite the absence of the adrenaline rush that comes with reporting from hot zones, Hamu sees a connection between the two. “I think this show is pretty avant garde,” says Hamu”
But only Americans keep Thanksgiving.
Only Americans and Canadians do Thanksgiving. It is meaningless in the rest of the world, including Palestine although no doubt the many American/Israeli illegal settlers would be celebrating, as did the early colonists in the Americas.
As a celebration, Thanksgiving has a lot of potential, because giving thanks for what we have is important and doing it in a collective sense, brings everyone together, but for most Western countries Christmas serves that purpose, and many cultures have versions of the same sort of thing.
Actually, Thanksgiving is a much older European tradition, and did not first originate when the Pilgrims had managed to cross the Atlantic, and survive their first winter.
“Erntedankfest”, (literally, “Harvest-thanks(giving) -celebration (or festiva)l”), as it is known in German, is commemorated in many churches on the first Sunday in October. It was a very widespread European custom, which the pilgrims took with them. Subsequently, in America, it has been greatly embellished upon, and developed it’s own unique (esp. culinary) customs and traditions.
It’s also stil practiced in England: In Britain it’s called Harvest Day, although it’s a lot less of a big deal. While we usually take a few non-perishables down to our local church and enter our autumn vegetables in competitions, Thanksgiving in North America is a much more plentiful and extravagant affair.
> rosross
Only Americans and Canadians do Thanksgiving.
Canadian Thanksgiving is earlier than in the USA, this year on Oct 10.
By November 24 there’s not much left to be thankful for except the frozen grapes/apples and snow-covered fields.
Amazing new TV show in Israel where a programme looks at other Israelis who are not Jewish
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/.premium-1.754739
“Hamu’s new show on Educational TV, “Between the Lines,” originates from much more comfortable surroundings. On the show he leads an open discussion with Israeli teenagers about a range of subjects in the Muslim world. One program dealt with the Arab Spring, another with Israeli Arabs. Others covered the Golden Age of Andalusia, and the Jews of Iraq. Despite the absence of the adrenaline rush that comes with reporting from hot zones, Hamu sees a connection between the two. “I think this show is pretty avant garde,” says Hamu”