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Reading material for your Thanksgiving pleasure:

The first Thanksgiving took place in December 1621. The Pilgrims held a 3-day feast in Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.In 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of thanksgiving. Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, convinced him to do so. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.

Turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie is the most popular Thanksgiving menu - this year, such a dinner, with coffee, milk and vegetables thrown in costs about $45 for a group of ten people.

Americans raise over 256 million turkeys with most produced in Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and California. About 144,000 were organic turkeys in 2005.

American farmers grow 649 million pounds of cranberries, a billion and a half pounds of sweet potatoes, and 998 million pounds of pumpkin. We also import a bunch more.

American towns named after Thanksgiving dinner’s main course include Turkey, Texas; Turkey Creek, Louisiana; and Turkey, North Carolina. Eight places are named Cranberry, and 20 are named Plymouth.

The first National Football League Thanksgiving Classic game was played in 1934, when the Lions hosted the game to get more people to go to Lions football games. Puritans brought beer to America in the Mayflower.

Some of this info came from Holidays.net

Before you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, enjoy the meal, and then suffer recriminations all the way up to Christmas, Hannukah, and Quanzaa, take several moments a day to thank your personal God or Goddess for the body you have. The alternative to having a body, is, I suppose, to be deceased. So, then. any body is a good one.

Body Image and Me

Ass too big? Well, does it provide a comfortable platform upon which to set a spell? Fine. Tits too small? Hmmm…can they feed an infant? Do they afford you sexual pleasure and stimulation? Tummy a bit saggy? Has it born your children? Acted as a container for the fine food you eat to nourish your body and pleasure your taste buds? Rolled out belly laughs of delight in your life?

We are what we are. I see signs that modern women are just beginning, finally, to come around to understanding that we are all beautiful. We have our Queen…Latifa. We have our intellectual role model — Camryn Manheim. We have our guru — Oprah. Each year, more celebs pop up in a larger-than-size-zero gown at various award shows. So - give yourself a break. Eat for nourishment and enjoyment. Eat a little for pleasure, with an eye toward sanity. Check out some of these resources to boost you up:

• BodyPositive.com - a great magazine with sections for large women, children, your inner parent, and more.
• Dove soap’s campaign for real beauty - women everywhere are talking about how good this is for us…and for our daughters. Kudos, Dove!
• Shape Your Style.com - how to buy the best styles for your personal best look.
• Pregnant? Here’s a fine resource. And while you’re at it, look for an awesome book, a bit older, but so full of treat yourself kindly tips - The Woman’s Comfort Book by Jennifer Louden.
• Quiet your spirit at ContemplativeMind.

A Bonus —Holiday Cheer–Wow!

Little Christmas is also referred to as Women’s Christmas (Nollaig na mBan in Irish), or sometimes even Women’s Little Christmas. It is so called because of the tradition, which is still very strong in Cork, of Irish men taking on all the household duties for the day and giving their spouses a day off. Most women will either hold parties or go out to celebrate the day with their friends, sisters, mothers, aunts etc. Bars and restaurants usually have a majority female clientele on this night. Children often buy presents for their mothers and grandmothers, and it closely resembles Mother’s Day in this respect.

While originally a rural tradition, in recent years, Women’s Christmas is enjoying something of a revival, both in Ireland and abroad. It is becoming popular in the Irish emigrant communities in Britain, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. For the Irish Women’s Network of British Columbia, Canada, for example, this event is the highlight of their social calendar.

The tradition is not well-documented, but one article from The Irish Times in January 1998, entitled On the woman’s day of Christmas, informally describes both some sources of information and the spirit of this unique occasion.—from wikipedia.

Voices Carry: A Fight for Women’s Rights in the Catholic Church

Perhaps every woman could gain by reading this very stirring, highly thought-out and finely crafted piece originally published by the WomensMediaCenter.com. For all of my life, my lack of status in my religion of birth has been a point of contention for me. This article moved me to do something - my way of acting is to promote Angela’s work. I would love to hear your opinion of her article. And now, please read “Voices Carry - the Fight for Women’s Rights in the Catholic Church.” —mp (womendaybyday.com)

by Angela Bonavoglia
November 19, 2008