Post making contest 6.0

willful obsolescence wags the dog mispeled wurd Bhutan

willful obsolescence wags the dog mispeled wurd Bhutan

This post passes rules 2 and 3.

How to ___ a skeleton?

skeletonize

How to ___ a skeleton?

This post passes no rules.

skeletonize

This post also passes no rules.

Is this a post? I can't tell.

Is this a post? I can't tell.

It is! And it passes rules 2 and 4.

How many posts would a post making contest make if a post making contest could make posts?

How many posts would a post making contest make if a post making contest could make posts?

Probably a whole lot. This post passes rules 2, 3, and 5.

NINE: The One Where They Escape The Matrix.

Friends has had a strange history of crossing over with other popular franchises dating right back to 1995, during the very second season of the show. Everyone remembers that season, it was the season where Phoebe first started carrying around a Buzz Lightyear toy with her. At first this seemed like simple cross promotion, a way to generate buzz (so to speak) for the upcoming Toy Story movie. Nobody was prepared for episode 9 (the christmas special of that season) which revealed that just like in the Toy Story universe, Phoebe's Buzz Lightyear was alive and sentient and dedicated to only moving when not observed by humans. It further revealed, by way of a series of flashbacks to the events of previous episodes as seen from Buzz's perspective, that Phoebe had quickly discovered the toy's secret and become good friends with him, getting into all manner of hijinks behind the other friends' backs.

Ever since then crossovers with popular movies have been fairly standard for Friends, some of them more well received than others. The One Where Ross Commits A Precrime, an episode which was a crossover with Tom Cruise movie Minority Report was especially poorly received with many viewers disappointed that Ross continued to get away with his ghastly crimes.

The best of these crossover episodes, in my opinion, was the season 5 episode The One Where They Escape The Matrix. The episode opens with Gunther desperately wanting to talk to Rachel. The other friends guess that as usual it's because of his massive infatuation with her, but once he manages to get her alone he divulges the truth about the Matrix, about how he got out and has been for some years now acting as a recruitment agent to determine who is trustworthy enough to entrust this information with, and furthermore who is capable enough to be of use to the human resistance in the real world. He insists that this is the reason he has been so seemingly infatuated with her, it was all because he was trying to assess her as a recruit. He insists this for approximately five uninterrupted minutes of the episode.

When he's finally done he offers Rachel a choice, take the red pill and awake in the real world, or take the blue pill and forget this whole thing ever happened. Rachel is kind of reluctant to take any pills from this guy, but she's still pissed that Ross said her name at his wedding so she thinks what the heck and takes the red pill. She awakens in the real world and the story follows her as she finds her place aboard a resistance ship piloted by Janice Goralnik, Chandler's ex girlfriend, while in a sideplot back in the Matrix Joey tries to cook and eat the world's largest pizza.

Eventually Rachel begins to miss her friends, and after a particularly hard fought battle against the machines, the ship on which she serves has five open spots. Rachel goes back into the Matrix to explain the reality of the situation to her friends. Though they are at first skeptical, agents attack and they are forced to flee towards the nearest exit point. Somehow they manage to lose the agents and it seems as though they are going to make their escape through a payphone located outside Central Perk, that is until Monica blocks the path. She laughs maniacally as her casual jacket metamorphoses into a suit and suddenly everyone in the street is a duplicate of her. The Monica copies swarm the other friends, who are too surprised to put up a meaningful resistance and within moments they are helpless to Monica's clone army.

Entirely unprompted Monica begins explaining that she was the Queen of the Matrix this whole time, that she had been staking out Rachel who she knew to be the chosen one just waiting for the moment that she would lead her to all the other resistance fighters. Monica laughs maniacally and explains that while she should kill them all now, for they have served their purpose, she has somehow grown fond of the other friends, and she will allow them to live, but erase their memories of this whole incident so that they will never escape her grasp again. Monica then turns, answers the phone, and disappears presumably into the real world to destroy the last vestiges of the human resistance. The screen fades to white and then fades back in with the resolution of the Joey eats the worlds biggest pizza subplot. Everyone is at Central Perk, cheering him on as he eats the final bite of the pizza and confetti showers down on them.

"I wish Gunther could have been here to see this." says Rachel absently.

"Who's Gunther?" ask all the other friends in unison. Rachel scratches her head and admits she doesn't know anybody called Gunther. The friends all laugh and the credits play.

skelton

NINE: The One Where They Escape The Matrix.

Friends has had a strange history of crossing over with other popular franchises dating right back to 1995, during the very second season of the show. Everyone remembers that season, it was the season where Phoebe first started carrying around a Buzz Lightyear toy with her. At first this seemed like simple cross promotion, a way to generate buzz (so to speak) for the upcoming Toy Story movie. Nobody was prepared for episode 9 (the christmas special of that season) which revealed that just like in the Toy Story universe, Phoebe's Buzz Lightyear was alive and sentient and dedicated to only moving when not observed by humans. It further revealed, by way of a series of flashbacks to the events of previous episodes as seen from Buzz's perspective, that Phoebe had quickly discovered the toy's secret and become good friends with him, getting into all manner of hijinks behind the other friends' backs.

Ever since then crossovers with popular movies have been fairly standard for Friends, some of them more well received than others. The One Where Ross Commits A Precrime, an episode which was a crossover with Tom Cruise movie Minority Report was especially poorly received with many viewers disappointed that Ross continued to get away with his ghastly crimes.

The best of these crossover episodes, in my opinion, was the season 5 episode The One Where They Escape The Matrix. The episode opens with Gunther desperately wanting to talk to Rachel. The other friends guess that as usual it's because of his massive infatuation with her, but once he manages to get her alone he divulges the truth about the Matrix, about how he got out and has been for some years now acting as a recruitment agent to determine who is trustworthy enough to entrust this information with, and furthermore who is capable enough to be of use to the human resistance in the real world. He insists that this is the reason he has been so seemingly infatuated with her, it was all because he was trying to assess her as a recruit. He insists this for approximately five uninterrupted minutes of the episode.

When he's finally done he offers Rachel a choice, take the red pill and awake in the real world, or take the blue pill and forget this whole thing ever happened. Rachel is kind of reluctant to take any pills from this guy, but she's still pissed that Ross said her name at his wedding so she thinks what the heck and takes the red pill. She awakens in the real world and the story follows her as she finds her place aboard a resistance ship piloted by Janice Goralnik, Chandler's ex girlfriend, while in a sideplot back in the Matrix Joey tries to cook and eat the world's largest pizza.

Eventually Rachel begins to miss her friends, and after a particularly hard fought battle against the machines, the ship on which she serves has five open spots. Rachel goes back into the Matrix to explain the reality of the situation to her friends. Though they are at first skeptical, agents attack and they are forced to flee towards the nearest exit point. Somehow they manage to lose the agents and it seems as though they are going to make their escape through a payphone located outside Central Perk, that is until Monica blocks the path. She laughs maniacally as her casual jacket metamorphoses into a suit and suddenly everyone in the street is a duplicate of her. The Monica copies swarm the other friends, who are too surprised to put up a meaningful resistance and within moments they are helpless to Monica's clone army.

Entirely unprompted Monica begins explaining that she was the Queen of the Matrix this whole time, that she had been staking out Rachel who she knew to be the chosen one just waiting for the moment that she would lead her to all the other resistance fighters. Monica laughs maniacally and explains that while she should kill them all now, for they have served their purpose, she has somehow grown fond of the other friends, and she will allow them to live, but erase their memories of this whole incident so that they will never escape her grasp again. Monica then turns, answers the phone, and disappears presumably into the real world to destroy the last vestiges of the human resistance. The screen fades to white and then fades back in with the resolution of the Joey eats the worlds biggest pizza subplot. Everyone is at Central Perk, cheering him on as he eats the final bite of the pizza and confetti showers down on them.

"I wish Gunther could have been here to see this." says Rachel absently.

"Who's Gunther?" ask all the other friends in unison. Rachel scratches her head and admits she doesn't know anybody called Gunther. The friends all laugh and the credits play.

This post passes rules 1, 2, and 3.

skelton

This post passes rule 5.

Show Content

SpoilerThanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada, the United States, some of the Caribbean islands, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 In Canada
1.2 In the United States
1.2.1 Debate about the nation's first celebrations
1.3 Fixing the date of the holiday
2 Observance
2.1 Australia
2.2 Canada
2.3 Grenada
2.4 Liberia
2.5 Netherlands
2.6 Philippines
2.7 Saint Lucia
2.8 United States
2.9 Judaism
3 Similar holidays
3.1 Germany
3.2 Japan
3.3 United Kingdom
3.4 India
4 See also
5 References
6 Sources
7 External links
History
Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among almost all religions after harvests and at other times.[1] The Thanksgiving holiday's history in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival, even though the harvest in New England occurs well before the late-November date on which the modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated.[1][2]

In the English tradition, days of thanksgiving and special thanksgiving religious services became important during the English Reformation in the reign of Henry VIII and in reaction to the large number of religious holidays on the Catholic calendar. Before 1536 there were 95 Church holidays, plus 52 Sundays, when people were required to attend church and forego work and sometimes pay for expensive celebrations. The 1536 reforms reduced the number of Church holidays to 27, but some Puritans wished to completely eliminate all Church holidays, including Christmas and Easter. The holidays were to be replaced by specially called Days of Fasting or Days of Thanksgiving, in response to events that the Puritans viewed as acts of special providence. Unexpected disasters or threats of judgement from on high called for Days of Fasting. Special blessings, viewed as coming from God, called for Days of Thanksgiving. For example, Days of Fasting were called on account of drought in 1611, floods in 1613, and plagues in 1604 and 1622. Days of Thanksgiving were called following the victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588 and following the deliverance of Queen Anne in 1705. An unusual annual Day of Thanksgiving began in 1606 following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and developed into Guy Fawkes Day on November 5.[3]

In Canada
Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada)
According to some historians, the first celebration of Thanksgiving in North America occurred during the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage.[4] Other researchers, however, state that "there is no compelling narrative of the origins of the Canadian Thanksgiving day."[5]

The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are also sometimes traced to the French settlers who came to New France in the 17th century, who celebrated their successful harvests. The French settlers in the area typically had feasts at the end of the harvest season and continued throughout the winter season, even sharing food with the indigenous peoples of the area.[6]

As settlers arrived in Nova Scotia from New England after 1700, late autumn Thanksgiving celebrations became commonplace. New immigrants into the country—such as the Irish, Scottish, and Germans—also added their own traditions to the harvest celebrations. Most of the US aspects of Thanksgiving (such as the turkey) were incorporated when United Empire Loyalists began to flee from the United States during the American Revolution and settled in Canada.[6]

In the United States
Main article: Thanksgiving (United States)

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1914, Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts
In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is traced to a sparsely documented 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts, and also to a well recorded 1619 event in Virginia. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. Pilgrims and Puritans who began emigrating from England in the 1620s and 1630s carried the tradition of Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving with them to New England. The 1619 arrival of 38 English settlers at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia, concluded with a religious celebration as dictated by the group's charter from the London Company, which specifically required "that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned ... in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."[7][8]

Several days of Thanksgiving were held in early New England history that have been identified as the "First Thanksgiving", including Pilgrim holidays in Plymouth in 1621 and 1623, and a Puritan holiday in Boston in 1631.[9][10] According to historian Jeremy Bangs, director of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, the Pilgrims may have been influenced by watching the annual services of Thanksgiving for the relief of the siege of Leiden in 1574, while they were staying in Leiden.[11] Now called Oktober Feesten, Leiden's autumn thanksgiving celebration in 1617 was the occasion for sectarian disturbance that appears to have accelerated the pilgrims' plans to emigrate to America.[12] Later in Massachusetts, religious thanksgiving services were declared by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford, who planned the colony's thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623.[13][14][15] The practice of holding an annual harvest festival did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.[16]

Thanksgiving proclamations were made mostly by church leaders in New England up until 1682, and then by both state and church leaders until after the American Revolution. During the revolutionary period, political influences affected the issuance of Thanksgiving proclamations. Various proclamations were made by royal governors, John Hancock, General George Washington, and the Continental Congress,[17] each giving thanks to God for events favorable to their causes.[18] As President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."[19]

Debate about the nation's first celebrations

Shrine of the first U.S. Thanksgiving in 1619 at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia
The question of where the first Thanksgiving was held in the United States has been a subject of debate, primarily between New England and Virginia, complicated by the concept of Thanksgiving as a holiday celebration versus a religious service. James Baker maintains, "The American holiday's true origin was the New England Calvinist Thanksgiving. Never coupled with a Sabbath meeting, the Puritan observances were special days set aside during the week for thanksgiving and praise in response to God's providence."[9] Baker calls the debate a "tempest in a beanpot" and "marvelous nonsense" based on regional claims.[9] However, the day for Thanksgiving services specifically codified in the founding charter of Berkeley Hundred in 1619 was instrumental in President John F. Kennedy's attempt to strike a compromise between the regional claims, by issuing Proclamation 3560 on November 5, 1963, stating, "Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together, and for the faith which united them with their God."[20]

Other claims include an earlier religious service by Spanish explorers in Texas at San Elizario in 1598.[21] Robyn Gioia and Michael Gannon of the University of Florida argue that the earliest Thanksgiving service in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565, in current Saint Augustine, Florida.[22][23]

Fixing the date of the holiday
The earlier Thanksgiving celebrations in Canada has often been attributed to the earlier onset of winter in the North, thus ending the harvest season earlier.[24] Thanksgiving in Canada did not have a fixed date until the late 19th century. Prior to Canadian Confederation, many of the individual colonial governors of the Canadian provinces had declared their own days of Thanksgiving. The first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred on April 15, 1872,[citation needed] when the nation was celebrating the Prince of Wales' recovery from a serious illness.[24] By the end of the 19th century, Thanksgiving Day was normally celebrated on November 6. However, when World War I ended, the Armistice Day holiday was usually held during the same week. To prevent the two holidays from clashing with one another, in 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving to be observed on its present date on the second Monday of October.[6] Since 1971, when the American Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, the American observance of Columbus Day has coincided with the Canadian observance of Thanksgiving.[25][26]

Much as in Canada, Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states.[27] Because of the ongoing Civil War, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

Observance
Australia
Thanksgiving is generally not celebrated in Australia. However, on the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Wednesday of November, similar to the pre–World War II American observance on the last Thursday of the month. This means the Norfolk Island observance is the day before or six days after the United States' observance. The holiday was brought to the island by visiting American whaling ships.[28]

Canada
Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada)

Pumpkin pie is commonly served on and around Thanksgiving in North America.
Thanksgiving (French: l'Action de grâce), occurring on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although the original act of Parliament references God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is mostly celebrated in a secular manner. Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in all provinces in Canada, except for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. While businesses may remain open in these provinces, the holiday is nonetheless recognized and celebrated regardless of its status.[29][30][31][32][33]

Grenada
In the West Indian island of Grenada, in the Caribbean, there is a national holiday known as Thanksgiving Day which is celebrated on October 25. Even though it bears the same name, and is celebrated at roughly the same time as the American and Canadian versions of Thanksgiving, this holiday is unrelated to either of those celebrations. Instead the holiday marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983, in response to the deposition and execution of the socialist Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.[34]

Liberia
In the West African country of Liberia, which began in 1820 with the colonization of freed black slaves (Americo-Liberians) from the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the first Thursday of November.[35]

Netherlands

Pieterskerk
Many of the Pilgrims who migrated to the Plymouth Plantation had resided in the city of Leiden from 1609–1620, and had recorded their births, marriages, and deaths at the Pieterskerk (St. Peter's church). To commemorate this, a non-denominational Thanksgiving Day service is held each year on the morning of the American Thanksgiving Day in the Pieterskerk, a Gothic church in Leiden, noting the hospitality the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World.[36]

Besides this, Thanksgiving is observed by orthodox Protestant churches in The Netherlands on the first Wednesday in November (Dankdag). It is not a public holiday. Those who observe the day either only go to church in the evening or take the day off and go to church in the morning (and occasionally afternoon) too.

Philippines
The Philippines, while it was an American colony in the first half of the 20th century, celebrated Thanksgiving as a special public holiday on the same day as the Americans. During the Japanese occupation during World War II, both the Americans and Filipinos celebrated Thanksgiving in secret. After Japanese withdrawal in 1945, the tradition continued until 1965. It was revived by President Ferdinand Marcos, but on every September 21, when martial law was imposed in the country. After Marcos' ouster in 1986, the tradition was no longer continued.[37] Due to the existence of BPO - Business Process Outsourcing since 2001 this tradition continues for the local workers joining their American employers.

Saint Lucia
The nation of Saint Lucia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first Monday in October.[38]

United States
Main article: Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, currently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November by federal legislation in 1941, has been an annual tradition in the United States by presidential proclamation since 1863 and by state legislation since the Founding Fathers of the United States. Historically, Thanksgiving has traditionally been a celebration of the blessings of the year, including the harvest.[39] What Americans call the "Holiday Season" generally begins with Thanksgiving.[40]

Judaism
In Reform Judaism, there is no hindrance to celebrating Thanksgiving, since it is regarded as a secular celebration rather than religious or gentile.[41][42] In Orthodox Jewry as well, many Rabbis permit or even encourage Thanksgiving celebration.[43]

Similar holidays
See also: List of harvest festivals
Germany

A food decoration for Erntedankfest, a Christian Thanksgiving harvest festival celebrated in Germany
The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, Erntedankfest, is a popular German Christian festival in early October. The festival has a significant religious component, and unlike its North American counterpart, it usually does not include large dinners. Many churches get decorated with autumn crops, beautifully arranged in front of the altar. In some places, there are religious processions or parades. Many Bavarian beer festivals, like the Munich Oktoberfest, take place within the vicinity of Erntedankfest.

The United States has observed German-American Day annually on October 6, within the vicinity of Erntedankfest, from 1883 until the early 1910s, then again from 1983 to the present day.

Japan
Main article: Labor Thanksgiving Day
Labor Thanksgiving Day (勤労感謝の日 Kinrō Kansha no Hi) is a national holiday in Japan. It takes place annually on November 23. The law establishing the holiday, which was adopted during the American occupation after World War II, cites it as an occasion for commemorating labor and production and giving one another thanks. It has roots in an ancient Shinto harvest ceremony (Niiname-sai (新嘗祭)).

United Kingdom

Harvest Festival flowers at a church in Shrewsbury, England
The Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving does not have an official date in the United Kingdom, however it is traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the harvest moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Harvest Thanksgiving in Britain also has pre-Christian roots when the Saxons would offer the first sheaf of barley, oats, or wheat to fertility gods. When the harvest was finally collected, communities would come together for a harvest supper.[44] When Christianity arrived in Britain many traditions remained, and today the Harvest Festival is marked by churches and schools in late September/early October (same as Canada) with singing, praying and decorating with baskets of food and fruit to celebrate a successful harvest and to give thanks.[45] Collections of food are usually held which are then given to local charities which help the homeless and those in need.

India
Thai Pongal is the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival[46] celebrated primarily in India, Sri Lanka, [47][48] and Malaysia. [49] In other parts of India, similar harvest festival is celebrated as Makar Sankranti. It is a four-day festival, which according to the Gregorian calendar is normally celebrated from January 14 to January 16. [50] This corresponds to the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of the Tamil month Thai. The festival is mainly celebrated to convey appreciation to the Sun God for a successful harvest. Part of the celebration is the boiling of the first rice of the season consecrated to the Sun - the Surya Maangalyam. The origins of the Thai Pongal festival may date to more than 1000 years ago.[46]

It is Thanksgiving Day and after watching a football game on television, the gang decides to play their own game of football. Monica and Ross are reluctant and tell the others that they have not been allowed to play football since Monica broke Ross' nose in the sixth annual Geller Cup on a Thanksgiving long ago. With the gang egging them on, they decide to play anyway. Monica picks Joey and Phoebe, Ross picks Chandler and ultimately, Rachel, who is upset about being last picked. The guys refuse to include Rachel on any plays, as she is terrible at football. She gets so bored, she wanders off for a snack.

As they play, Joey and Chandler meet a Dutch girl, Margha. They both try to impress her, finally picking Chandler once Ross forces her to choose between the two guys. While Chandler does a victory dance, Margha changes her mind and picks neither of them.

After Monica's team has the lead, Ross is upset. They orchestrate a trade: Rachel for Joey. The girls try to beat the men, making Phoebe show off her breasts to Chandler. During the last 30 seconds, Monica has no choice but to throw to Rachel, who seemingly scores and spikes the ball. However, Chandler points out that she was actually short of the goal line and everyone realizes the ball is still live. Ross and Monica dive for the ball and try to take it from each other to win the game. After several minutes, the rest of the gang retreats upstairs to have Thanksgiving dinner, while Ross and Monica continue to fight over the ball in the dark.

Show Content

SpoilerThanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada, the United States, some of the Caribbean islands, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 In Canada
1.2 In the United States
1.2.1 Debate about the nation's first celebrations
1.3 Fixing the date of the holiday
2 Observance
2.1 Australia
2.2 Canada
2.3 Grenada
2.4 Liberia
2.5 Netherlands
2.6 Philippines
2.7 Saint Lucia
2.8 United States
2.9 Judaism
3 Similar holidays
3.1 Germany
3.2 Japan
3.3 United Kingdom
3.4 India
4 See also
5 References
6 Sources
7 External links
History
Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among almost all religions after harvests and at other times.[1] The Thanksgiving holiday's history in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival, even though the harvest in New England occurs well before the late-November date on which the modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated.[1][2]

In the English tradition, days of thanksgiving and special thanksgiving religious services became important during the English Reformation in the reign of Henry VIII and in reaction to the large number of religious holidays on the Catholic calendar. Before 1536 there were 95 Church holidays, plus 52 Sundays, when people were required to attend church and forego work and sometimes pay for expensive celebrations. The 1536 reforms reduced the number of Church holidays to 27, but some Puritans wished to completely eliminate all Church holidays, including Christmas and Easter. The holidays were to be replaced by specially called Days of Fasting or Days of Thanksgiving, in response to events that the Puritans viewed as acts of special providence. Unexpected disasters or threats of judgement from on high called for Days of Fasting. Special blessings, viewed as coming from God, called for Days of Thanksgiving. For example, Days of Fasting were called on account of drought in 1611, floods in 1613, and plagues in 1604 and 1622. Days of Thanksgiving were called following the victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588 and following the deliverance of Queen Anne in 1705. An unusual annual Day of Thanksgiving began in 1606 following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and developed into Guy Fawkes Day on November 5.[3]

In Canada
Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada)
According to some historians, the first celebration of Thanksgiving in North America occurred during the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage.[4] Other researchers, however, state that "there is no compelling narrative of the origins of the Canadian Thanksgiving day."[5]

The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are also sometimes traced to the French settlers who came to New France in the 17th century, who celebrated their successful harvests. The French settlers in the area typically had feasts at the end of the harvest season and continued throughout the winter season, even sharing food with the indigenous peoples of the area.[6]

As settlers arrived in Nova Scotia from New England after 1700, late autumn Thanksgiving celebrations became commonplace. New immigrants into the country—such as the Irish, Scottish, and Germans—also added their own traditions to the harvest celebrations. Most of the US aspects of Thanksgiving (such as the turkey) were incorporated when United Empire Loyalists began to flee from the United States during the American Revolution and settled in Canada.[6]

In the United States
Main article: Thanksgiving (United States)

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1914, Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts
In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is traced to a sparsely documented 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts, and also to a well recorded 1619 event in Virginia. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. Pilgrims and Puritans who began emigrating from England in the 1620s and 1630s carried the tradition of Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving with them to New England. The 1619 arrival of 38 English settlers at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia, concluded with a religious celebration as dictated by the group's charter from the London Company, which specifically required "that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned ... in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."[7][8]

Several days of Thanksgiving were held in early New England history that have been identified as the "First Thanksgiving", including Pilgrim holidays in Plymouth in 1621 and 1623, and a Puritan holiday in Boston in 1631.[9][10] According to historian Jeremy Bangs, director of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, the Pilgrims may have been influenced by watching the annual services of Thanksgiving for the relief of the siege of Leiden in 1574, while they were staying in Leiden.[11] Now called Oktober Feesten, Leiden's autumn thanksgiving celebration in 1617 was the occasion for sectarian disturbance that appears to have accelerated the pilgrims' plans to emigrate to America.[12] Later in Massachusetts, religious thanksgiving services were declared by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford, who planned the colony's thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623.[13][14][15] The practice of holding an annual harvest festival did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.[16]

Thanksgiving proclamations were made mostly by church leaders in New England up until 1682, and then by both state and church leaders until after the American Revolution. During the revolutionary period, political influences affected the issuance of Thanksgiving proclamations. Various proclamations were made by royal governors, John Hancock, General George Washington, and the Continental Congress,[17] each giving thanks to God for events favorable to their causes.[18] As President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."[19]

Debate about the nation's first celebrations

Shrine of the first U.S. Thanksgiving in 1619 at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia
The question of where the first Thanksgiving was held in the United States has been a subject of debate, primarily between New England and Virginia, complicated by the concept of Thanksgiving as a holiday celebration versus a religious service. James Baker maintains, "The American holiday's true origin was the New England Calvinist Thanksgiving. Never coupled with a Sabbath meeting, the Puritan observances were special days set aside during the week for thanksgiving and praise in response to God's providence."[9] Baker calls the debate a "tempest in a beanpot" and "marvelous nonsense" based on regional claims.[9] However, the day for Thanksgiving services specifically codified in the founding charter of Berkeley Hundred in 1619 was instrumental in President John F. Kennedy's attempt to strike a compromise between the regional claims, by issuing Proclamation 3560 on November 5, 1963, stating, "Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together, and for the faith which united them with their God."[20]

Other claims include an earlier religious service by Spanish explorers in Texas at San Elizario in 1598.[21] Robyn Gioia and Michael Gannon of the University of Florida argue that the earliest Thanksgiving service in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565, in current Saint Augustine, Florida.[22][23]

Fixing the date of the holiday
The earlier Thanksgiving celebrations in Canada has often been attributed to the earlier onset of winter in the North, thus ending the harvest season earlier.[24] Thanksgiving in Canada did not have a fixed date until the late 19th century. Prior to Canadian Confederation, many of the individual colonial governors of the Canadian provinces had declared their own days of Thanksgiving. The first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred on April 15, 1872,[citation needed] when the nation was celebrating the Prince of Wales' recovery from a serious illness.[24] By the end of the 19th century, Thanksgiving Day was normally celebrated on November 6. However, when World War I ended, the Armistice Day holiday was usually held during the same week. To prevent the two holidays from clashing with one another, in 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving to be observed on its present date on the second Monday of October.[6] Since 1971, when the American Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, the American observance of Columbus Day has coincided with the Canadian observance of Thanksgiving.[25][26]

Much as in Canada, Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states.[27] Because of the ongoing Civil War, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

Observance
Australia
Thanksgiving is generally not celebrated in Australia. However, on the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Wednesday of November, similar to the pre–World War II American observance on the last Thursday of the month. This means the Norfolk Island observance is the day before or six days after the United States' observance. The holiday was brought to the island by visiting American whaling ships.[28]

Canada
Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada)

Pumpkin pie is commonly served on and around Thanksgiving in North America.
Thanksgiving (French: l'Action de grâce), occurring on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although the original act of Parliament references God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is mostly celebrated in a secular manner. Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in all provinces in Canada, except for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. While businesses may remain open in these provinces, the holiday is nonetheless recognized and celebrated regardless of its status.[29][30][31][32][33]

Grenada
In the West Indian island of Grenada, in the Caribbean, there is a national holiday known as Thanksgiving Day which is celebrated on October 25. Even though it bears the same name, and is celebrated at roughly the same time as the American and Canadian versions of Thanksgiving, this holiday is unrelated to either of those celebrations. Instead the holiday marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983, in response to the deposition and execution of the socialist Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.[34]

Liberia
In the West African country of Liberia, which began in 1820 with the colonization of freed black slaves (Americo-Liberians) from the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the first Thursday of November.[35]

Netherlands

Pieterskerk
Many of the Pilgrims who migrated to the Plymouth Plantation had resided in the city of Leiden from 1609–1620, and had recorded their births, marriages, and deaths at the Pieterskerk (St. Peter's church). To commemorate this, a non-denominational Thanksgiving Day service is held each year on the morning of the American Thanksgiving Day in the Pieterskerk, a Gothic church in Leiden, noting the hospitality the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World.[36]

Besides this, Thanksgiving is observed by orthodox Protestant churches in The Netherlands on the first Wednesday in November (Dankdag). It is not a public holiday. Those who observe the day either only go to church in the evening or take the day off and go to church in the morning (and occasionally afternoon) too.

Philippines
The Philippines, while it was an American colony in the first half of the 20th century, celebrated Thanksgiving as a special public holiday on the same day as the Americans. During the Japanese occupation during World War II, both the Americans and Filipinos celebrated Thanksgiving in secret. After Japanese withdrawal in 1945, the tradition continued until 1965. It was revived by President Ferdinand Marcos, but on every September 21, when martial law was imposed in the country. After Marcos' ouster in 1986, the tradition was no longer continued.[37] Due to the existence of BPO - Business Process Outsourcing since 2001 this tradition continues for the local workers joining their American employers.

Saint Lucia
The nation of Saint Lucia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first Monday in October.[38]

United States
Main article: Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, currently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November by federal legislation in 1941, has been an annual tradition in the United States by presidential proclamation since 1863 and by state legislation since the Founding Fathers of the United States. Historically, Thanksgiving has traditionally been a celebration of the blessings of the year, including the harvest.[39] What Americans call the "Holiday Season" generally begins with Thanksgiving.[40]

Judaism
In Reform Judaism, there is no hindrance to celebrating Thanksgiving, since it is regarded as a secular celebration rather than religious or gentile.[41][42] In Orthodox Jewry as well, many Rabbis permit or even encourage Thanksgiving celebration.[43]

Similar holidays
See also: List of harvest festivals
Germany

A food decoration for Erntedankfest, a Christian Thanksgiving harvest festival celebrated in Germany
The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, Erntedankfest, is a popular German Christian festival in early October. The festival has a significant religious component, and unlike its North American counterpart, it usually does not include large dinners. Many churches get decorated with autumn crops, beautifully arranged in front of the altar. In some places, there are religious processions or parades. Many Bavarian beer festivals, like the Munich Oktoberfest, take place within the vicinity of Erntedankfest.

The United States has observed German-American Day annually on October 6, within the vicinity of Erntedankfest, from 1883 until the early 1910s, then again from 1983 to the present day.

Japan
Main article: Labor Thanksgiving Day
Labor Thanksgiving Day (勤労感謝の日 Kinrō Kansha no Hi) is a national holiday in Japan. It takes place annually on November 23. The law establishing the holiday, which was adopted during the American occupation after World War II, cites it as an occasion for commemorating labor and production and giving one another thanks. It has roots in an ancient Shinto harvest ceremony (Niiname-sai (新嘗祭)).

United Kingdom

Harvest Festival flowers at a church in Shrewsbury, England
The Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving does not have an official date in the United Kingdom, however it is traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the harvest moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Harvest Thanksgiving in Britain also has pre-Christian roots when the Saxons would offer the first sheaf of barley, oats, or wheat to fertility gods. When the harvest was finally collected, communities would come together for a harvest supper.[44] When Christianity arrived in Britain many traditions remained, and today the Harvest Festival is marked by churches and schools in late September/early October (same as Canada) with singing, praying and decorating with baskets of food and fruit to celebrate a successful harvest and to give thanks.[45] Collections of food are usually held which are then given to local charities which help the homeless and those in need.

India
Thai Pongal is the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival[46] celebrated primarily in India, Sri Lanka, [47][48] and Malaysia. [49] In other parts of India, similar harvest festival is celebrated as Makar Sankranti. It is a four-day festival, which according to the Gregorian calendar is normally celebrated from January 14 to January 16. [50] This corresponds to the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of the Tamil month Thai. The festival is mainly celebrated to convey appreciation to the Sun God for a successful harvest. Part of the celebration is the boiling of the first rice of the season consecrated to the Sun - the Surya Maangalyam. The origins of the Thai Pongal festival may date to more than 1000 years ago.[46]

This post passes rules 1, 2, and 3.

It is Thanksgiving Day and after watching a football game on television, the gang decides to play their own game of football. Monica and Ross are reluctant and tell the others that they have not been allowed to play football since Monica broke Ross' nose in the sixth annual Geller Cup on a Thanksgiving long ago. With the gang egging them on, they decide to play anyway. Monica picks Joey and Phoebe, Ross picks Chandler and ultimately, Rachel, who is upset about being last picked. The guys refuse to include Rachel on any plays, as she is terrible at football. She gets so bored, she wanders off for a snack.

As they play, Joey and Chandler meet a Dutch girl, Margha. They both try to impress her, finally picking Chandler once Ross forces her to choose between the two guys. While Chandler does a victory dance, Margha changes her mind and picks neither of them.

After Monica's team has the lead, Ross is upset. They orchestrate a trade: Rachel for Joey. The girls try to beat the men, making Phoebe show off her breasts to Chandler. During the last 30 seconds, Monica has no choice but to throw to Rachel, who seemingly scores and spikes the ball. However, Chandler points out that she was actually short of the goal line and everyone realizes the ball is still live. Ross and Monica dive for the ball and try to take it from each other to win the game. After several minutes, the rest of the gang retreats upstairs to have Thanksgiving dinner, while Ross and Monica continue to fight over the ball in the dark.

This post passes rules 2 and 3.

b

d

g

j

q

u

v

w

x

b

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

d

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

g

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

j

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

q

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

u

This post passes rule 4.

v

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

w

This post passes rules 4 and 5.

x

This post passes rules 4 and 5.