Patriotic  Moms
  • HOME
  • PURPOSE
  • TEACHING OUR CHILDREN
  • HOLIDAYS
  • SONGS
  • ARCHIVES
  • CONTACT

Celebrating Thanksgiving

11/21/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture

By the time they reached the shores of America, the Pilgrims had sacrificed much of what they held dear to worship God. They left their native country, family, friends, home, livelihood and many of the comforts of life, and landed in a cold and hostile wilderness.  

William Bradford tells us, “Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet  on the firm and stable earth, their proper element.”

But their troubles were far from over. Bradford recounts, “It pleased God to visit us then with death daily, and with so general a disease that the living were scarce able to bury the dead.” More than half of the Pilgrims died the first winter.

And yet, when spring arrived and the captain of their ship offered to return them to England for free, not one Pilgrim accepted his invitation. Their faith in God gave them the strength to persevere.

Governor William Bradford declared, “Thus out of small beginnings greater things have grown by His hand. Who made all things out of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light enkindled here has shone to many, yea, in a sense, to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise.”

The Pilgrims were willing to sacrifice everything for the freedom to worship God as they believed. In so doing, they laid the foundation for the creation of the greatest nation in the history of the world.

As we enjoy a feast with friends and loved ones, let’s take time to give thanks to God, to retell the story of the Pilgrims and the incredible price they paid to be faithful, and to recommit ourselves to pay the price to be true in our day. 

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

Here are some resources to help your family create happy, meaningful memories.

Watch
  • The Mayflower Compact (4:25)
  • The Mayflower Story (36:26)
  • The Thanksgiving Story for Children  (24:35)
  • Plimoth Plantation Virtual Field Trips
          - Mayflower (19:52)
          - Pilgrim Village (17:54)
          - Wampanoag Homesite (16:51)
          - Plimoth Plantation (30:23)
  • William Bradford for Kids (2:30)
  • Squanto, the Legendary Friend of the Pilgrims (7:09)
  • Pocahontas - Animated Hero Classics (33:58)
  • Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving-DTH (5:20)  
  • History of Thanksgiving David Barton (6:42)
  • True Story of Thanksgiving Rush Limbaugh (14:21)

Do
  • Read George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation with your family. It could be on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving morning, at your Thanksgiving dinner table, or any time that works for your family. In fact you could read a quote, story, or any other meaningful Thanksgiving message together every day of Thanksgiving week. 
  • Work together to prepare your Thanksgiving feast and to clean up afterwards.
  • Do something nice for a military family and tell them how thankful you are for them.
  • Help refugees or other immigrants in your community.
  • Make or draw "We Are Thankful for You" posters or pictures and deliver them to friends and neighbors. Kids love to make it an anonymous surprise. Tape the picture to the front door or on the windshield of a car, ring the doorbell, and run.
  • Take pictures of things you are thankful for and make a "Gratitude Scrapbook."
  • The Pilgrims and Indians had friendly competitions.  You could participate in the local Turkey Trot, play games like catch, football, horseshoes, or frisbee golf.  
  • Make Pilgrim Hats and Indian Headdresses for the kids.
  • Do the Five Kernels of Corn activity.
  • Make a Gratitude Craft.
  • Do some Plimoth.org: Just for Kids activities.

Read
  • The Pilgrims Depart from the Old World
  • Pilgrims Arrive in the New World
  • Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving
  • The Story of Thanksgiving
  • Stories of the Pilgrims 
  • Paying the Price to Be True
  • George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
  • Abraham LIncoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
  • A Thanksgiving Message from Ronald Reagan
  • Thanksgiving Quotations




4 Comments
Lis
11/21/2016 01:22:48 pm

Thank you so much for sharing this. Lived the ideas!

Reply
Patriotic Moms
11/21/2016 01:46:51 pm

How kind of you, Lis! Thank you for taking time to comment! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Reply
Elaine Goble
11/23/2016 09:20:36 am

Amazing--I knew this feeling about who they were as a child.

Reply
Patriotic Moms
11/23/2016 12:15:47 pm

Thank you, Elaine!! Me too! Hoping to share that feeling with as many Americans as we can. :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.


    Welcome!


    Dates 

    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013


    Find More by Date
    Click ARCHIVES here
    or on the Main Menu
    above for articles posted before May 2013.


    ​
    Find More by Search
    ​Enter topics of interest in the search box below.

    RSS Feed


Photos used under Creative Commons from uhuru1701, KimCarpenter NJ, Randy Son Of Robert, Kelly Schott, Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors, makelessnoise, BrianKhoury, J. Walker-Yung, Bob Jagendorf, jimbrickett, Belzie, Elvert Barnes, A. Buser, slapjack, okandasan, Elizabeth/Table4Five, cliff1066™, Dave Hosford, Sweet One, Јerry, jonfeinstein, richard winchell, bigbirdz, A. Strakey, Brian Lane Winfield Moore, Fried Dough, isafmedia, Kelly Schott, Upsilon Andromedae, Luigi Crespo Photography, Artondra Hall, Yuya Tamai, AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, jimbrickett, John-Morgan, idlebrat, slgckgc, stan.faryna, cordfish, Wendy Piersall, @cdharrison, DonkeyHotey, Belzie, Elizabeth/Table4Five, terren in Virginia, PBoGS, PBoGS, The-Lane-Team, OakleyOriginals