Entry #3010, November 13, 2013
Today we continue Stagetecture’s feature ‘Olioboard Inspiration‘. Before you were inspired by – ‘A Daughter’s Veteran’s Day Tribute’ from Heather Lee. Today, I feature Lisa Ketz who is a member of the Facebook Olioboard Fan Room group and she gets us ready for Thanksgiving! See her inspiring tribute to the history of Thanksgiving, complete with the iconic Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade outside.
If you’re interested in being featured see details here: How to be featured on Stagetecture’s Olioboard Inspiration‘ series.
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Olioboard Inspiration #48
‘The Inspiring History of Thanksgiving’ Lisa Ketz
The origins of Thanksgiving began with the Pilgrims who settled here from England in 1621. They are said to have shared a feast with the Wampanoag Indians after a successful fall harvest that lasted for three days. It did not come to be considered a national day of thanks and official Federal holiday until 1941. In 1817, New York was the first to adopt Thanksgiving as an official holiday. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt declared the third Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving.
The Food Is the Star
Thanksgiving Day traditions mainly revolve around the food with the turkey as its symbol. It is not known for sure that turkey was on the menu at the first Thanksgiving but given the existence of wild turkeys it probably was. Modern day Thanksgiving has become a day for families to get together and to enjoy a great meal to kick of the holiday season. The bulk of food preparations usually took place in my house while we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. Dinner was a formal sit down event. The fine family china and cloth napkins would make a rare appearance. The adults partook of wine served in fancy wine glasses. To allow room for all the serving dishes, the table décor was best kept simple. One of my favorite simple table decor ideas is to place pillar candles in plain glass hurricane vases and surround them with dried corn kernels.
All the usual fixings for example, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, turnips and cranberry sauce would be served. I am sure every family has their own special dishes which have been handed down through the generations. My Mom added creamed pearl onions and green bean casserole to her menu. Funny, Thanksgiving is pretty much the only time of year I get to enjoy my favorite pumpkin pie. After dinner the men generally retire to the living room to watch the football while the ladies handled the cleaning duties. Then it was nap time for all before the leftovers came out, Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwiches which would also be had for days afterward.
This Thanksgiving I will be most thankful for the twelve wonderful years I shared with my life partner who just recently passed away.
About Lisa
I am mom to one grown son and grandma to a beautiful 4 year old little girl. I live in Binghamton, New York. I started my own Home Staging business called Added Charm Home Staging several years ago. I also hold down a full time job in the finance industry. When I am not working I am on Olioboard. It is a great creative outlet. I love to design and shop and Olioboard allows me to enjoy my passions in its virtual environment. I also enjoy sharing design inspiration with other like minded individuals through the Olioboard Fan Room on Facebook. If you want to learn more about me, check out my blog at or my website. You can also follow me on Facebook or on Olioboard.
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Wonderful Lisa! I enjoyed reading about the history of Thanksgiving! May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Thank you Ronique for such wonderful opportunities and great articles!