The Weekend File - November 21, 2020 - Thanksgiving
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The First Thanksgiving.
The Mayflower did bring the Pilgrims to North America from Plymouth, England, in 1620, and they disembarked at what is now Plymouth, Mass., where they set up a colony. In 1621, they celebrated a successful harvest with a three-day gathering that was attended by members of the Wampanoag tribe. It’s from this that we derive Thanksgiving as we know it.
But it wasn’t until the 1830s that this event was called the first Thanksgiving by New Englanders who looked back and thought it resembled their version of the holiday. The holiday wasn’t made official until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared it as a kind of thank you for the Civil War victories in Vicksburg, Miss., and Gettysburg, Pa.
Of course, calling this “first Thanksgiving” isn’t precisely right as both Native American and European societies had been holding similar festivals to celebrate successful harvests for centuries. But for the pilgrims looking back on their arrival on these shores, it certainly was their first Thanksgiving in the new world.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay safe.
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U.S. Courts Close Doors, Cancel Juries as Virus Surgesk
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Your employees are doing their part to end harassment. Now it’s your turn
More than 7 in 10 people who experienced workplace sex harassment and sought help from the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund faced some form of retaliation. Employers must do better.
Weekend Reads
Human Ageing Reversed in "Holy Grail" Study
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Book: Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America
In a hush-hush meeting at a Washington, D.C., law firm, consumer advocate Ralph Nader prodded Joseph “Jock’’ Yablonski to challenge W.A. “Tony’’ Boyle for the presidency of the United Mine Workers Association. As incentive, Nader offered his “all-out support.’’ The star-struck Yablonski blanched. “If I do run, Ralph, they’ll try to kill me,’’ he said. He was right.
