Waitrose and Thanksgiving

I`m resisting and I don`t believe for one minute that Britons are beginning to celebrate Thanksgiving - I wish my youngest who lives in USA and any people I know who are American Happy Thanksgiving but we have enough to celebrate here without taking on Thanksgiving - so says me!!!

Waitrose is claiming that 1 in 6 Britons celebrate Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

Patent nonsense.

Love that hymn-but we can sing it at harvest festivals if we want to.

Nice try Waitrose at getting people to spend more money! In my opinion Black Friday is also something we can do without.

I read the article in Waitrose Weekend magazine and though it was ridiculous. We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK. American Nationals living here may well do, but this has nothing to do with us. I bought my turkey in July and put it in the freezer, does that mean I celebrated American Independence. I think not.

Oh no, I shall be singing that hymn all day now!!!

I don't suppose the turkeys were very thankful.

Now thank we all our GodNow Thank We All Our God

The United Methodist Hymnal Number 102
Text: Martin Rinkart; Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
Music: Johann Cruger; Harm. by Felix Mendelssohn
Tune: NUN DANKET, Meter: 67.67.66.66
1.Now thank we all our God,
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom this world rejoices;
who from our mothers' arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

2.O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us;
and keep us still in grace,
and guide us when perplexed;
and free us from all ills,
in this world and the next.

3.All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given;
the Son, and him who reigns
with them in highest heaven;
the one eternal God,
whom earth and heaven adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.
Choose an instrument: Piano | Organ | Bells
Links for downloading:
Text file
Plain MIDI | Piano | Organ | Bells
Piano score (pdf file)
Slides (ppt file)

I love Thanksgiving, which I have celebrated with American friends in Minnesota as winter set in, and with ex pat American friends here. As someone said earlier, it is non political, non denominational (well, fairly...) which is excellent.

I don't see the need, apart from commercial exigencies of course, for supermarkets to plug it here.

x

Less of the "old", old bean!

Come on SOUTRA,old bean, get with the programme !"!

On December 11, 1621, Edward Winslow wrote the following description of the festival

"Our corn did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown, they came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom.

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after … a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty"

Sounds like some party! The immigrants making friends with the welcoming indigenous folk!

Sorry- missed your post first time round Nonu.

On point A]
I always return to UK, about the second week of October for two reasons

a] the nights are drawing in

b] It is getting colder, except in California where we have taken to going to, of late .

c] my Birthday has passed
ss

roseq, I've an American sister-in-law and she would tell you we Europeans should be giving thanks for having got rid of those pesky Pilgrim fathers—she reckons they were the antecedents of many of America's current religious nutters whom Europe was, and is, well rid of—except that there seems to be a new breed here now supporting Islamist extremists . Human beings are so weird sometimes.

I was in Waitrose this afternoon. I didn't notice anything about Thanksgiving. Maybe there wasn't anything, maybe I'm even more immune to sales pushes than I thought I was, or maybe it hasn't made it to the frozen north yet.

See Nonu's post of 14.12 today, Soutra!

Come on then Nonu - what's your verdict on Thanksgiving?

L O L!

Yes Nonu it was high time you were 'outed'

Rosesarered---------- Much Chuckling !!

Rosequartz----------- Some of my ancestors were also Huguenots,snap , small world eh !! Still there were quite a lot of them about !

Hi Brusselsgran

I thought I read on another thread that Hallowe'en was exported from Scotland to America and back here again!

But not Thanksgiving please! What is the point, unless we are supposed to be giving thanks for getting rid of those pesky Pilgrim Fathers?

(Before anyone shouts at me about religious persecution, some of my ancestors were Huguenots!)

I think Desdemona was asking a reasonable question [who is Nonu?] It is at the start of the thread, and Soutra mentioned her name, but Desdemona was not to know that! So Hi Desdemona, keep posting on here.
If Waitrose want to flog more turkeys then you can't blame them for the advertising, but it is ridiculous.

Hi Brusselsgran I am also in Brussels and until reading this post thought i was the only Gransnetter here. Nice to see another Brusselsgran.

Well here I am to put you out of your misery soutra, I am quite ambivalent about Thanksgiving.Mind you, I cannot really blame Waitrose for jumping on the bandwagon.

a] I have never been in the US of A around that time.

b] I think it very is nice for them, seems to be a big occasion for them , chance to get all family together. Not something I have really put my mind to though TBF

c] Also of course they don"t celebrate Boxing Day, as we do, so that probably makes up for it
.
However my DD has been to a Thankgiving Dinner, a couple of times hosted by friends[not American] . Perhaps Bournville is trying to set up a new tradition. Who know"s , chuckle .

Happy day,everyone.
I will return !
x