Welcome to our series sharing Unique Holidays: November 25th, 2021. It’s National Parfait Day and also Thanksgiving. For dessert today why not shake things up and instead of serving the traditional desserts how about having everyone make there own Parfait? Charlie and I said we would make a Chocolate Parfait while David says he would like a Chocolate Strawberry Parfait. Would you like to share a Parfait with us?
National Parfait Day– Always November 25th.
A Parfait consists of layers of Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, and any combination of Syrups or Fruits. A Parfait is basically a fancy word for a Sundae served in a fancy glass.
Celebrate this Holiday by eating Parfaits. Chocolate is by far the favorite, use your imagination to create a range of single or mixed flavors.
Savor your favorite flavor of the Parfait, as you enjoy National Parfait Day.
History and Origin of National Parfait Day:
We haven’t yet discovered who created National Parfait Day and we found no congressional records, or presidential proclamation, creating this day as a National Holiday.
Thanksgiving – Eat, drink, and be thankful, fourth Thursday
Tucked between two monster sized Holidays Halloween and Christmas is Thanksgiving, a monster of a Holiday, too. However, Thanksgiving receives far less attention than it should but Thanksgiving is an important Holiday, in the busy lives of busy Americans. Thanksgiving is a time to slow down, kick back and relax. On this Holiday, we take a pause to enjoy the four Fs : Family, Food, Fun, and Football. Watch a football game or go to a movie, and enjoy a huge feast, most often with Turkey as the main attraction. It’s also time for us to give thanks to God, for the things he has bestowed upon us and upon this great Nation and there is no nation in the world that has more to be thankful for than us.
Thanksgiving History:
The first Thanksgiving was an uncertain time for the Pilgrims. Life for early Settlers was difficult. Successful existence, and even survival in the New World, wasn’t a sure thing. After the Fall Harvest, the first Thanksgiving was celebrated between the Pilgrims and the Indians in 1621.That first feast was a three-day affair. The successful Fall Harvest was a time for celebration. It assured the Pilgrims that they would have enough food to last through the long Winter in this strange new land. The early Pilgrims were very religious. This was also a time of Prayer, thanking God for the good crop. Pilgrims and the Indians created a huge feast, including a wide variety of Animals and Fowl, as well as Fruits and Vegetables from the Bountiful Fall Harvest. Undoubtedly, Turkeys were cooked during the first Thanksgiving feast, as they were plentiful. This early celebration was the start of today’s Thanksgiving Holiday Celebration. Like back then, today we celebrate with a huge feast. After the first Thanksgiving, the observance was sporadic and almost forgotten until 1789.
Thanksgiving is the first official U.S holiday
168 years after the Pilgrims and Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving, the 13 Colonies had won the Revolutionary War with Great Britain, and had become an independent Nation. The Citizens of the fledgling, young United States of America had a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. At the request of both houses of the U.S. Congress, George Washington proclaimed the first official Thanksgiving Day as “a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer”. The proclamation was made on October 3rd, 1789, declaring November 26th, 1789 as Thanksgiving Day. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving Day to be the last Thursday in November. Then in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress made Thanksgiving a National Holiday, and set the date for Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November.
Most of us enjoy Turkey with “all the trimmings” including a wide variety of foods that are a tradition for your family. Those traditional foods often resemble the foods at the first Thanksgiving Feast. While other food items are recipes from traditional, ethnic, or religious groups, or a special food your family always serves at Thanksgiving dinner. Then after dinner, if you haven’t already over-indulged, there’s a dessert tray filled with a wide variety of desserts. The dessert tray is sure to include Pumpkin Pies, Apple Pies, and Pecan Pie or Mince Meat Pies.
American Thanksgiving traditions revolve around a lavish meal, usually with Turkey as the centerpiece. For those who do not like Turkey, Roast or Prime Rib may be served. Tradition has it in most families, a Prayer of thanks precedes dinner. In many homes, family members will each mention something they are thankful for.
Did you know?
Potatoes were not part of the first Thanksgiving. Irish Immigrants had not yet brought Potatoes to North America. Irish Immigrants from Derry were the first to bring Potatoes to the New World. These immigrants settled in New Hampshire and planted the first crop. Other settlers came over on Spanish ships and brought potatoes to Virginia and the Carolinas.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
