HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Who aren't old English curmudgeons that mumble "It's Harvest Festival, really."

Well it is and I'd bet anything the Puritans that supposedly originated this American tradition did so under the impression it was just like the old country's Harvest Festival.

No we don't have any connection with England at all, this is an entirely American experience and that's why there's all that horse shit about the Indians being part of it, well, after we'd 'pacified' them with smallpox, syphilis, alcohol and gunpowder!

As a choir boy I always liked Harvest Festival even more than Christmas because the church was generously decorated with wheat sheaves, breads of every shape and size, copious flowers, jars full of home made jams and bottles of home made wines and cakes and just about everything you could find in a grocers or supermarket including canned goods.

Most of the food was donated to various charitable organizations such as old folks homes and the Sally Army as well as the Womens Institute which often raffled off the cakes after a judging competition. It was an unusual display of community generosity, just like this here in New York.

Opportunities for sharing Thanksgiving in our Neighborhood:


Thursday, Nov. 25 - Starting at 11:30 am, usually until about 1 pm, cooked turkey dinners will be served inside the Church or available for pick up at Trinity Lutheran Church, 160 West 100th St. (between Columbus and Amsterdam Aves).  

If you're taking out, bring a bag and rubber bands to wrap the dinner(s). 

Thursday, Nov 25 - Noon - 3 pm - Dinners served and for take out at Goddard Riverside Center, 593 Columbus Ave (between 88-89th St.) 
Take out dinners were fully wrapped and bagged last year.


So what's in a name, eh? Both names are equally appropriate.