The First Thanksgiving, a traditional feast and day of thanks passed down to us through the ages

"In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal."

Thankful

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“The Mother” by: Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty

I have always heard this book was “the best book ever” and “this is one you should definitely read.” I had a copy at one point that I found off ebay but never read it because at the time I figured, I was single and not dating so why read it now? So, a friend of mine got married and I decided to give her the book because I knew it had great things said about it and wanted to share it with her. Now, I am married and God willing, one day will be a mother.

After browsing through the bookstore here I came across the book, “The Mother “ (among many others I was carrying in my arms…). After looking through and seriously contemplating each book I had in the pile I had collected, I decided on this one. I got it about a month or so ago and began to read it. I have not gotten far yet but already it is an amazing and inspiring book.

“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She needs not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body… The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation… What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?” (from the jacket of the book)