November 2018
Today I would like to express my biggest gratitude to all of you who have followed me for many years. It’s special to me that our paths have crossed, and that you allowed my therapists and me to be part of your healing journey. When I first founded Rising Sun Physical Therapy, I was dedicated to creating a place where the sun rises every day, no matter how deep the clouds hang, where I could show you that there is new beginning in a safe healing environment. Thank you for being strong while recovering from life-threatening and deforming cancer treatments, debilitating pain syndromes, sports injuries, or even living in constant fear of embarrassment because of pelvic floor dysfunctions. Thank you for allowing my therapists and me to witness your personal healing transformation, your vulnerability, and your trust. MONTHLY MOMENTS Bettina’s
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. 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, TheHistory Behind ThanksgivingTraditions T urkey , F ootball , and B lack F riday
It means the world to me. Thank you.
–Bettina Neumann
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