Having recovered from our Ghoulish holiday, we are moving on to Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, etc. While researching this article, we have found a huge number of interesting holiday tidbits, fun websites and family places on the net. Since our next Holiday is Thanksgiving, we are directing most of this feature to it. Read a little Thanksgiving history, try the recipes, enjoy the tidbits & turkey trivia, respond to our Holiday poll, send an e-card, follow the links....... and don't get too stuffed!

Have a favorite holiday recipe? A special tip you would like to share? EMAIL THEM TO US! We'll consider them for future issues.

Be sure to bookmark this page... from here we will send you literally "around the globe"... we want you to "find your way home" ... leave breadcrumbs along the way! ... Don't forget the poll before you leave!

 The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. The feast lasted three days.

Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.

Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cheese, cider, or butter. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

This first "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. In fact, it wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unamimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving.

October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.

George Washington wanted to prolcaim a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, but discord among the colonies prevented it. Many felt the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Since then, the date was changed only once, by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the third Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later.

Throughout the United States and Canada Thanksgiving Day is an annual legal holiday. It is
celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States and on the second Monday in October in Canada. There are also Thanksgiving holidays celebrated every year in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Laos, Liberia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Grenada, and the Virgin Islands.

Want a Unique Way to send Holiday or Special greeting to family and friends on-line? A selection of links to popular FREE E-Cards (email cards). Enjoy!

E-Cards (Wildlife Foundation)
Blue Mountain Animated
Warner Bros.
Mail A Meal (recipes, etc.)
Toonogram (wacky & wild)
E-Cards
Billy Bear's Playground (for kids)

Turkey Trivia, Tidbits and Teasers*

Yep, it's everything you ever wanted to know about our favorite fowl but were afraid to ask. Did you know:

Why is turkey called "turkey?" There are several possible explanations:
¤ Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India, where peacocks are found in considerable number. And he believed turkeys were a type of peacock (they're actually a type of pheasant). So he named them tuka, which is "peacock" in the Tamil language of India.
¤ Another explanation is that firkee (sounds like turkey) was the Native American name for the bird.
¤ When the turkey is scared it makes a noise that sounds like "turk, turk, turk."
¤ Turkeys could be named after the country of Turk

Did you know -- The heaviest turkey ever raised may have been the 75-pound turkey raised by a turkey farming company in 1967.

*From the Butterball Website - for more turkey Trivia and Fun go here.