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| The History of Thanksgiving |
| Thanksgiving Day Festivities |
| Countdown to Thanksgiving Day |
| FOUR WEEKS OUT: Make your guest list. Make your menu. Order your turkey--especially if you want a fresh one. (Plan on 1 1/4 pounds per person.) Measure your oven to make sure your turkey will fit. Invite your guests. (Before you get on the phone, have a list of guests and a list of dishes. Then, if someone offers to bring a dish, accept the offer. And if they don't offer, ask them.) THREE WEEKS OUT: Check your equipment: Table (one large enough for all your guests). Chairs for all of your guests. Dishware: Dinner plates, Dessert plates, Coffee cups and saucers, Silverware: Polished forks, knives and spoons. Glassware:, Water glasses,Clean wine glasses. Linens: Clean napkins. Tablecloth (large enough to fit your table). Cooking and serving items: Roasting pan: Is it the right size for your turkey? Will it fit into your oven? (Don't laugh: It's easier to buy the right pan today than it will be on Thanksgiving morning.) Big-enough bowls, pots and serving platters, Trivets, Bread basket, Sauceboat, Gravy pitcher, Well-sharpened knives, Coffeepot--Can yours make both regular and decaf for a crowd? Maybe you should get a thermos. Sugar bowl, Cream pitcher. SUGGESTION: If you can afford it, having someone to do the dishes will make an immense difference in your enjoyment of the meal. TWO WEEKS OUT: Make a seating chart. Work on your shopping lists--don't forget tonic, seltzer and apple cider for the kids. Begin cooking--relish will keep in the fridge for a week; gravy freezes well.) Select a wine--Caterers recommend providing a half bottle for each guest--not counting children, of course. ONE WEEK OUT: Tidy up the house. Put clean towels in the bathroom. Make a final shopping list--Remember ice, cream for the coffee and nuts for nibbling in the living room. THANKSGIVING WEEK - MONDAY: Defrost your turkey (if it's frozen). Remember that you have to allow 24 hours for every 5 pounds if you're going to defrost a turkey in the refrigerator. That means a 15-pound turkey will take three full days, so get started on Monday. SUGGESTION: If you miss that deadline, you can defrost the bird faster in a sinkful of cold water, allowing about half an hour for each pound of turkey and changing the water occasionally. (It will still take 7 1/2 hours for that 15-pounder, so do it after work on Wednesday, then refrigerate it.) THANKSGIVING WEEK - TUESDAY: Do your final food shopping. Make a cooking schedule for Thanksgiving Day. If guests are invited for 5 P.M., count backward from a 6 P.M. dinner, writing down the time everything goes into the oven or the microwave. Don't forget the dishes that will have to be reheated. THANKSGIVING WEEK - WEDNESDAY Set the table. Clear out the coat closet for guest coats. Clean the guest bathroom. If possible, make it off-limits to the family. Take the gravy out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator so it can defrost. THANKSGIVING DAY: You'll be so caught up that you'll be looking around for things to do. Have a great Thanksgiving! |
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| Preparing for the Big Day |
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| Checklist |
| Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, of family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. So here for your entertainment are some fun Holiday things for you and your family. We've got stories of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, turkeys to take home, holiday pictures for the kids to print and color, tasty holiday recipes and e-greeting cards to send your friends and family. We hope you find something you like! Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November, which this year (2003) is November 27th. So bring your kids and tell your friends. And please stop by again. Don't forget to sign our Guestbook before you leave. |
| Throughout history mankind has celebrated the harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies brought to you by holidays.net. |
| The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious prosecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality. So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their backers for 7 years. C;ick the link above to read all about it! |
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| History Links: |
| Helpful Links: |
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| Thanksgiving Day Menus & Recipies |
| In the mid-19th century Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey�s Ladies Book, led a movement to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In 1863, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day in order to bolster the Union�s morale. After the war, Congress established Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but widespread national observance caught on only gradually. Many Southerners saw the new holiday as an attempt to impose Northern customs on them. However, in the late 19th century Thanksgiving�s emphasis on home and family appealed to many people throughout the United States. As a distinctly American holiday, Thanksgiving was also considered an introduction to American values for the millions of immigrants then entering the country. |
| During the 20th century, as the population of the United States became increasingly urban, new Thanksgiving traditions emerged that catered to city dwellers. The day after Thanksgiving gradually became known as the first day of the Christmas shopping season. To attract customers, large retailers such as Macy�s in New York City and Gimbel�s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began to sponsor lavish parades. By 1934 the Macy�s parade, featuring richly decorated floats and gigantic balloons, attracted more than one million spectators annually. |
| The custom of watching football games on Thanksgiving Day also evolved during the early decades of the 20th century. As football became increasingly popular in the 1920s and 1930s, many people began to enjoy the holiday at a football stadium. Teams in the National Football League eventually established traditions of playing nationally televised games on Thanksgiving afternoon. |
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| In keeping with the idea of celebrating a plentiful harvest, preparing and eating a large meal is a central part of most Thanksgiving celebrations. Thanksgiving menus usually include turkey, bread-crumb stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. These simple foods recall the rustic virtues of the Pilgrims. Additionally, most of these foods are native to North America, emphasizing the natural bounty that greeted early settlers in their adopted homeland. Later groups of immigrants to North America often adapted the traditional holiday menu to fit their own tastes. For example, many Italian American Thanksgiving meals include Italian specialties, such as pasta and wine. |
| Public observances of Thanksgiving usually emphasize the holiday�s connection with the Pilgrims. Thanksgiving pageants and parades often feature children dressed in Pilgrim costume, complete with bonnets or tall hats, dark clothes, and shoes with large silver-colored buckles. Many of the images commonly associated with Thanksgiving are derived from much older traditions of celebrating the autumn harvest. For example, the cornucopia (a horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruits and vegetables) is a typical emblem of Thanksgiving abundance that dates to ancient harvest festivals. Many communities also decorate their churches with fruits, flowers, and vegetables at Thanksgiving, much as European communities have for centuries during the autumn harvest season. |
| Thanksgiving Customs & Symbols |
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| This basic recipe is perfect for a first-timer. Over time, you can try variations using stuffings, various herbs or spices rubbed on with the salt and pepper, or butter mixtures placed under the skin. Estimated Times Preparation Time 20 mins. Cooking Time 180 mins. Standing Time 15 mins. Ingredients 12 pounds whole turkey 1/4 cup olive oil 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper Directions Preheat oven to 450�F Wash and dry turkey inside and out. Rub turkey lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper . Cut a long length of aluminum foil, enough to wrap loosely around the turkey. Lay it across the bottom of your roasting pan with edges overlapping the sides of the pan. Place a rack on top of the foil and set the turkey breast-side up on the rack. Bring ends of foil up around turkey and crimp together along top of turkey. Foil should be loosely wrapped around turkey and crimped together at ends. Put turkey in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 375�F and cook until done. Use following chart to gauge time: 8-10 pounds: 2-2/12 hours; 10-14 pounds: 2 1/2-3 hours; 14-20 pounds: 3 1/2-4 hour. During roasting, the bird should be basted occasionally and turned 3 times, that is, rolled onto all of its sides. Open foil to do this and turn turkey first on one side, then on another, then upside down. Finally, turn it right side up and remove foil for final browning. The turkey is done when you stick a fork, knife, or skewer in and clear juice (as opposed to pink) runs out. A meat thermometer inserted into the part of the bird without touching the bone will read 180�F. Do not overcook. Remove turkey from oven and let sit 15-30 minutes before serving so that juices will be reabsorbed by the flesh. Carve the turkey and transfer to a serving tray. Serving Size: 16 |
| Oven Roasted Turkey |
| Recipie Links: |
| Top 10 Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids |
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| Turkey Keeper Kids will enjoy making this brightly colored project, and you'll love having a keepsake of your child's hands and feet. |
| http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/11641.xml |
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| Thanksgiving Day Card Colorful papers, scissors, and glue are about all you need to make our festive greeting card. This one has a clever twist with its fold-down turkey feet. |
| Say hello to someone far away with this handsome Tom. |
| The kids will love this one! |