An adorable family-Jon and Heidi Hennings, of Waverly, Iowa-recognizes the fact that "the first Thanksgiving brought together two cultures: pilgrims from Europe and members of the Wampanoag tribe," and they have certainly tried their hardest to keep this theme alive.
They are the host family for one international traveling student from China, and when they found out that many of this student's similarly traveling student companions had nowhere to go in the four day break given for Thanksgiving, they kindly offered to take them all in over the extended holiday and expose them to their Thanksgiving traditions.
Students from Asia, Africa, Central and South America who would have otherwise spent four days alone instead got to share a cozy feast of turkey, potatoes and pie while being educated on how Pilgrims + Indians came to involve football and frenetic shopping on a food hangover before even the sun comes up.
Infinite e-props to anyone who made the strangely warm 50 degree Thanksgiving (at least here in NJ) even warmer.
Did you have a happy holiday? Do you enjoy being with others during Thanksgiving?Story Source.
Comments (7)
that's cute =)
yea definitely a nice story..mad props to them.
unfortunately my thanksgiving was eh..i have and exam on sat and my younger sister has swine flu. my mom made me stay at home and study and watch my sister while everyone else went over to my uncles house for nice thanksgiving. =(
This is an idea;istic and pretty picture but what really happened after the first so called "Thanksgiving" to the Native Americans?..........read on.
"Some 400 years ago Europeans reached Noepe in sufficient numbers to leave a record, and by the 1700's there were English settlements over most of the island. Our presence was quickly felt, and between, the dislocation from land dealings, and the influence of disease, our populations were reduced and our territories constricted. By the 1800's there remained but three native communities on Martha's Vineyard: Aquinnah, Christiantown, and Chappaquiddick. Aquinnah being the most populous and organized, we were able to maintain control over our land, despite intense efforts by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to end our existence. Over the past 100 years more and more native land has been lost as changes in the local economy forced tribal members to sell their lands, move to other parts of the island, or to leave the island altogether. Aquinnah was at different times in history referred to as a "praying town," an Indian District, and an incorporated town. Throughout it all we remain a sovereign tribe."
Excerpt from:
http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/Pages/Wampanoag_WebDocs/history_culture
@roy_j@xanga - way to make the warm weekend a little colder, jerk.
just playin' LOL...although I should point out that most of us are aware of the cruelest part of American history, as we can clearly look around us and see no remnants of our land's indigenous people anywhere.
Rather than calling attention to the actions of people who lived several hundreds of years before us-for which we certainly bear no responsibility-why not be a bit more like me and pay more attention to their still grueling plight that is happening today, for which we all are responsible for?
anywho, thanks for the comment =)
"way to make the warm weekend a little colder, jerk" The truth hitting you in the face can be rather chilly.........I understand one have to see the wine glass as half full sometimes but it still is half empty in the real world, is it not? ;: )
@roy_j@xanga - *again*, you are not "hitting" anyone in the face with "truth." anyone who has studied american history or the history of american art (I have both) knows well the plight of the indigenous people of this land. in no way has anything I've posted undermine that.
"I understand one have to see the wine glass as half full sometimes but it still is half empty in the real world, is it not?"
I do not understand the above statement...though I see you've mentioned wine, so I'll just go ahead and assume you were drunk when you typed this.
Please go back and read my above comment when you're sober and perhaps stop harping on the actions of none of our ancestors and pay more attention to the righteous plight of people who struggle *today*.
@missneeraja - ***Hiccup*** Lol.