Building Your Future in the United States The Immigration Insider
November 2018
From the Desk of
Clare Corado
The History Behind Thanksgiving Traditions Turkey, Football, and Black Friday
Happy Holidays! Holiday season is officially upon us! I can smell it in the air, see it in the leaves, and will soon be tasting it in all the delicious foods that are staples for this time of year. The smiles of my children, the laughter of my nieces and nephews, the joy in my parent’s faces — this is the magic of the season. I say to you, take a deep breath and soak it all in. Slow your pace, just for a moment, and revel in the love of family. This holiday season, let us all remember to celebrate our traditions, our successes, and our families!
“There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” –O. Henry
In our lifetimes, Thanksgiving hasn’t changed all that much. Sure, you may have modernized the menu and begun posting your family photos to Instagram, but the tried-and-true quartet of family, football, grub, and gratitude has been in place for generations. While it’s easy to take holiday traditions as a given, each one has a fascinating history all its own. Christmas trees, Valentine’s chocolate, and other de rigueur activities often have strange, unexpected origins. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the backstories behind some of the essential Thanksgiving traditions. Turkey Unlike other items on this list, it’s likely that turkey has been a staple of Thanksgivings since the first Thanksgiving in 1621. At the time, the holiday didn’t even have a name, and it was still more than 200 years away from being officially recognized by Abraham Lincoln. There are only two primary source documents detailing the meal between the Massachusetts colonists and the Wampanoag natives, and one of them mentions the famous Thanksgiving bird explicitly. Plymouth County Governor William Bradford described the menu in his journal “Of Plymouth Plantation,”which is one of the earliest accounts of life in colonial America. “Besides waterfowl,” he wrote, “there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc.” As the colonists moved throughout the continent, they brought turkeys with them. In fact, there was even a specific role, called a “turkey drover,” for the person who would shepherd the birds from one part of the country to another.
–Clare Corado
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The relationship between turkey and Thanksgiving was well-established by the time the American Revolution began. Alexander Hamilton went so far as to say, “No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 40 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, so it’s safe to assume that most people are heeding Hamilton’s advice. Football American football — or any football, for that matter —wasn’t even a sport when Thanksgiving began. However, the association between the two American icons dates back to the earliest days of the sport in the late 19th century. Harvard and Yale played the first Thanksgiving game in 1876. A decade later, the University of Michigan began a series of games that most historians believe inaugurated the tradition of Thanksgiving football in earnest.
but the NFL is how we get our Thanksgiving football fix these days. The Detroit Lions played in the first professional “Turkey Bowl” in 1934 against the Bears, and the Dallas Cowboys got in on the act in 1966. The teams from Detroit and Dallas still host holiday games to this day. The NFL, never one to miss an opportunity to make money, added a third Thanksgiving game in 2011. One year later, Mark Sanchez of the Jets produced the now-notorious “butt fumble,” laying an egg that even the largest fowl would be envious of. Black Friday The wildest shopping day on the calendar begins earlier and grows more annoying every year — recently, it’s started to encroach on Thanksgiving itself, making you wonder if you should stick around for pie or head off to the mega-retailer for a chance to take advantage of some screaming deals. You may be happy to know that people being irritated about Black Friday goes back as far the tradition itself.
Many people assume that the holiday gets its name from retailers going from “red” (having a loss) to “black” (making a profit) on that day, but that’s actually a myth. The term was coined by Philadelphia police officers to describe the influx of suburban shoppers who flocked to the city, wreaking havoc and forcing them to work long hours. It took only a few years for Black Friday to become an unofficial city holiday. Black Friday in Philadelphia began in the 1950s. A few decades later, in the ‘80s, when America was chock-full of shopping malls, it became a nation-wide phenomenon. Even the explosion of online retail hasn’t slowed the droves of people lining up at insane hours to secure the biggest savings of the season. Thanksgiving is one of the most traditional holidays. Whether you’re content to keep the routine the same or are the type of person who likes to spice things up, it’s fun to know why Thanksgiving looks and feels the same for so many Americans.
College football may have been where the sport’s relationship with Thanksgiving began,
3 True Crime Shows You Have to See Move Over, Sitcoms, There’s a New Trend in Town
There’s a genre of entertainment that many Americans are afraid to admit is their secret obsession. It’s as if you’re hiding a secret that you desperately want to confess, but you’re afraid of the judgment and concerned looks from your friends. Then one day, you muster the courage to casually mention a docu-series you watched — hoping for absolution but concerned the jury won’t understand — and the floodgates open. Suddenly your closest friends and family have passionate opinions on the justice system and can tell you they know exactly who murdered who and how. Deep down inside, everyone loves a good mystery. Here are three of the best.
convolution, and gritty storytelling comes to one bone-chilling conclusion that will make your jaw drop. ‘The Staircase’ Did Michael Peterson kill his wife? Did the American justice system tear apart the dream it so righteously attempts to protect? What is considered fact in a murder trial? These are just a few of the questions you’ll contemplate as you go on a 16-year journey told over 13 gripping episodes. Questionable expert testimony and crime scene evidence are juxtaposed with a competent defense team and a convincing defendant, making for a story that begs viewers to take sides. In the end, the only fact you’ll know to be true is that you can’t trust your intuition.
‘Making a Murderer’ Directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos take viewers through an experience that feels like the most maddening game of ping pong ever played — in any given episode, your view may bounce from one polarizing opinion to another. After watching 10 mind-bending episodes of Steven Avery and his attorneys going back and forth during the trial, you’ll have questions that demand answers. So
many, in fact, that Netflix has confirmed the production of a second season and a spin-off series titled “Convicting a Murderer.” ‘The Jinx’ Forty years of conflicting reports on three murders make for one compelling HBO series. Robert Durst goes under the spotlight after speaking for the first time about the death of three people connected to him. A web of lies,
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For Everyone on Your List Looking for gift ideas that don’t break the bank but still show the special people in your life how much you care? Do-it-yourself (DIY) gifts are the way to go. Here are a few ideas to put together on a chilly night. Pull out your crafting supplies, turn on some holiday tunes, and get creative. Best DIY Gift Ideas
Best DIY Gift to MakeWith the Little Ones: Handprint Apron
a sweet or funny message (“but first, coffee” or “two shots, hold the chatter”) or list their favorite beverage (“coffee, no sugar” or “green tea”). Write something that makes them think of you, or create a simple drawing. Enjoy the artistic freedom as much as they’ll enjoy your thoughtful gift.
Aunties, uncles, and godparents will love a gift that incorporates their favorite little ones, and it’s a great way to get the kids in on the project. Choose some unadorned aprons from your local craft or home goods store and some acrylic paint in a variety of colors. Then get crafty! The kids can use their handprints as a starting point and add other decorations as they like. You can also find some fun ideas on the blog Little Page Turner, like painting a butterfly from your kids’ stamped footprints. Have fun with it!
Best DIY Gift for Someone Special: Memory Map
Utilize a map, a pair of scissors, some glue, and your memories of meaningful places to create this sentimental gift. Choose map locations that are meaningful to you and your special person — where you met, where you celebrated special moments, where you first lived — and cut them out in geometric or heart shapes. Then, glue the cutouts to a piece of matboard. You can add kind words at each point, or let the places explain themselves. Place in a frame and gift to your loved one.
Best DIY Gift for Your Bestie: Personalized Mug
You only need a mug and an oven-safe or porcelain marker to create this personalized gift. Use a mug you already own, or pick one up from the dollar store or thrift store, and get expressive! You could write
Take a Break!
A Simple Brine
FOR SUCCULENT TURKEY
Ingredients
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3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt
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2 large sprigs thyme
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2 bay leaves
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3/4 cup sugar
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1 tablespoon black peppercorns
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1 carrot, peeled and diced
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1 large onion, peeled and diced
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1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
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1/4 cup celery, diced
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1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
Directions
1. In a large stock pot, bring salt, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved. 2. Turn off heat and add remaining ingredients. Place brine in the fridge, uncovered, until cold. 3. Add 6 quarts cold water to brine. Add turkey and submerge completely. Brine chilled for up to 72 hours.
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Clare PAGE 1 Why We Eat Turkey onThanksgiving PAGE 1 True Crime Makes for Gripping TV PAGE 2 The Best DIY Gifts PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 A Simple Brine for Succulent Turkey PAGE 3 HowThanksgiving Became an Official Holiday PAGE 4
Sarah Hale How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays celebrated throughout the United States. One of the first documented Thanksgiving celebrations took place in 1621, when Plymouth colonists andWampanoag Indians shared a feast together. But the banquet, which celebrated the colonists’ first successful harvest, wasn’t just one large meal, nor did it last for only one day; in fact, the feast lasted for three days.
He used this to speak to his fellow American citizens about the Revolution’s satisfactory conclusion and encouraged them to show their thanks for the freedoms they gained. Thanksgiving became a national holiday more than 200 years after its first celebration. It gained this status largely due to the persistence of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale was a successful magazine editor, prolific writer of novels and poems, and author of the famous nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,”which was first published in her 1830 collection entitled “Poems for Our Children.”
In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln finally declared it a national holiday, hoping that it would help heal the wounds of the country. Lincoln decided that the holiday would take place on the last Thursday of November. It was celebrated on that day until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in the hopes of increasing retail sales during the Great Depression. However, this plan was very unpopular, and in 1941, the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. Without the efforts of Sarah Hale, we might not have the pleasure of the Thanksgiving feast we know and love to this day. This year, give thanks for family, good food, and the resolve of one woman who recognized the importance of Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
In later years, Thanksgiving also lasted for longer than a single meal. During the time of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress chose several days throughout the year to celebrate giving thanks. Then, in 1789, GeorgeWashington made the U.S. national government’s first Thanksgiving proclamation.
In 1827, Hale began a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. For the next 36 years, she wrote numerous editorials and countless letters to state and federal officials expressing her desire that it gain official status.
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