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LOCAL Friday 15 November 2019
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Say thank you in Aruba

Today

ORANJESTAD — Aruba Today gives you the opportunity to
express your gratitude to your blessings. Send us a small
Thanksgiving message (maximum 10 words) with/without
picture and we will publish it in our edition on Thanksgiv-
ing Day, November 28th. Please email to: news@arubato-
day.com. Thank you for supporting our free newspaper,
we strive to make you a happy reader every day.

Please do note: By submitting photos, text or any other
materials, you give permission to The Aruba Today News-
paper, Caribbean Speed Printers and any of its affiliated
companies to use said materials, as well as names, like-
ness, etc. for promotional purposes without compensa-
tion.

What Is It About?
Thanksgiving is on Thursday November 28th, the day be-
fore Black Friday. Thanksgiving Day traditionally kicks off
the 'holiday season' in the United States. The day was set
in stone by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and ap-
proved by Congress in 1941. FDR changed it from Abra-
ham Lincoln's designation as the last Thursday in Novem-
ber (because there are sometimes five Thursdays in the
month).

While Thanksgiving is one of the biggest events in the
American calendar, for Europeans it's always been a little
bit of a mystery. What is it actually about? The most expo-
sure many of us get to the holiday is by watching Ameri-
can television series' Thanksgiving-themed episodes - and
even those tend to leave us in the dark.

Many Americans think it of it as just as important as Christ-
mas. In fact, more people in the US celebrate Thanksgiv-
ing than they do Christmas. Thanksgiving Day is a secu-
lar holiday in a country that officially separates church
and state so this probably makes sense. Thanksgiving can
be traced back to 1621 where refugees from England,
known as Pilgrims, invited the local Native Americans to a
harvest feast after they experienced a successful season
of produce growth. But it wasn’t just the economic drive
that allowed the Pilgrims to prosper. It was their devotion
to God and His laws. And that’s what Thanksgiving is re-
ally all about. The Pilgrims recognized that everything we
have is a gift from God – even our sorrows. Their Thanks-
giving tradition was established to honor God and thank
Him for His blessings and His grace.

Although the turkey is ‘the face’ of Thanksgiving nowa-
days, the first Thanksgiving did not even include turkey,
but rather a three-day feast of goose, lobster, cod and
deer. Besides turkey people love stuffing and pies –
pumpkin, pecan, apple and sweet potato as the tradi-
tional desserts.

Why is American football relevant to Thanksgiving? In
1934, the University of Detroit hosted the first Thanksgiv-
ing Day football game between Detroit Lions and the
Chicago Bears. The game became the first-ever network
broadcast event in the US and was so popular that a
Thanksgiving Day football game continues today – and
Detroit has played every year since.

Today people from Canada, the United States, some of
the Caribbean islands, and Liberia continue the Thanks-
giving tradition in their homes – or when on vacation in
their holiday destination. Aruba Today wishes you a Hap-
py Thanksgiving. q