~CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING - The Tradition Lives On~

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION

Circa 1963
L-R: Linda, Rebecca, Cynthia & Kathleen

A few days ago I shared with you a little photograph of my sister, two cousins and I dressed up as Pilgrims for a Thanksgiving Celebration in my home town of Hacienda Heights, California. Just before Thanksgiving Day 1963, the Los Angeles TRIBUNE came out to my humble home and photographed us four little girls gazing over the huge Horn O' Plenty centerpiece my mother had made. The newspaper clipping you see above has somehow survived forty five years...

LOVELY CLAPSADDLE ART

(Free to Use as You Please)

Thanksgiving was always a huge event in our family and we had simple, but lovely, traditions. We learned about the practices of America's earliest settlers and we came to respect the things they experienced at a young age. I can assure you they did not drive to the local Market and buy a frozen bird and store it in their freezer for a few weeks! Nor did they have ready made frozen pie shells, canned pumpkin, pre-fab stuffing or dried meringue powder... Instead they feasted on Venison and Wild Fowl and even Swan and Lobster.

ANOTHER FREE GRAPHIC
Art by Ellen Clapsaddle

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of good will between the English Colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to be the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

Thanks to my good friend Patty, our local newspaper is coming out to my home to photograph our Miss K and my sister Jenny's three children. Jen's kids are a quarter Native American and we are excited about her four year old son being our "Little Indian". We love how their heritage mingles together with that of our earliest settlers. Somehow we are keeping the traditions going as we try and teach our children and grandchildren about the plight of our Nation and the sacrifices made.

Blessings to you as we celebrate the passion birthed in the hearts by those who have gone before us...Rebecca