Indian Summer

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

By the way, some authorities maintain that Indian summer occurs not after the first frost but after the first freeze—and that the intermediary spell of freezing weather is known as "squaw winter."

Happy Thanksgiving

We are often reminded that the American holiday of Thanksgiving got its start with the Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621. But few people know that we probably never would have had this holiday were it not for Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale.

There was no regular yearly celebration of Thanksgiving for almost 250 years after the Pilgrim's first feast (despite what you may have learned in second grade). It was Sarah Josepha Hale who, from 1821 until 1863 (42 years!), wrote editorials in women's magazines arguing for a national celebration of Thanksgiving on a single day each year. Her editorial in September 1863, published in the midst of the Civil War, sparked the interest of Abraham Lincoln, who thought it was an excellent idea that would bring together the divided country. On October 3, 1863, Lincoln decreed that the last Thursday in each November should be a national Thanksgiving Day. So, before you take that first bite of fresh turkey this Thanksgiving, take a second to give thanks to these two.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print