As you probably know, today was thanksgiving, a day where you get together with your friends and family to thank for all the blessings you have been given in your lives. It’s a national holiday in the United States, I personally would say that it’s probably as big as Xmas in the UK! My boss was kind enough to invite me to his house. As I was walking past my workplace today, I didn’t see a single car parked outside. Everyone must have been at home, enjoying their time with family, friends and an awesome dinner. I was amazed to see how serious the Americans take this day.

 

Let’s go back in time to see why Americans celebrate this day, imagine how the world looked like a few thousand years ago. Pilgrims are people that were native English men and women from the United Kingdom. The government had a huge control over the citizens and inhabitants that lived there. Over the years, people had been forced to attend official services at the Church of England, if not, they would get arrested. The common public didn’t have any freedom of speech.

The pilgrims didn’t like this barbaric behavior anymore, so they took matters into their own hands. As far as I remember, they packed up on a ship, called the Mayflower, and grabbed some supplies to sail to the new world that Columbus had found. They promised themselves that they would repay the debts that the supplies had cost, once they have settled down.

Not everything went as planned, a misfortune had happened. They originally were heading to Baltimore, but strong winds started to blow in the wide ocean and caused the ship to go off course, and head towards Cape Cod, in northern US. The tragedy also caused one or two deaths, including one child, called Oceanus.

Once they arrived there, the native American-Indians helped them settle down, showed them how to grow crops, taught them how to fish and made sure the pilgrims survived throughout a very hard winter.

On that day, they celebrated a feast for peace between two groups/races. They thanked each other and for every blessing they had received. And up until this day, people still celebrate this happiness.

 

I am thankful for everything that I have in my life. My parents, my friends and my past teachers, without all these people, I wouldn’t be where I am today. My teachers have taught me a lot, education wise, my friends were always there to have a laugh with and my family was always there when I needed them. I am grateful for all the things that have happened, for all the people that have come and gone, in and out from my life. I really have learned a lot over the years and will always appreciate this blessing, not just today but every single day of my life.

What are you thankful for?