jbf@ccieng5.UUCP (Jens Bernhard Fiederer) (03/27/84)
We also had a Thanksgiving in Germany. It was called Erntedankfest(Harvest Thanks Festival). It was traditional for every family to bring a gift of food to their church (from the farmers who dedicated a portion of their crops) which would then be distributed to the needy. It had no political overtones. The Grey Mouser -- Reachable as ....allegra![rayssd,rlgvax]!ccieng5!jbf Or just address to 'native of the night' and trust in the forces of evil.
bitmap@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA (04/01/84)
Several letters were received dealing with holidays & religion. One interesting one mentioned some differences between Canadian & U.S.A. holidays. Apparently, there is a "Thanksgiving" in Canada, but it is held on a different day. Presumably, the tradition is different, too, but I don't know what it is. Another I thought ought to be put in the net, as it makes a good point (below). At least one reply that I tried to make died between here and !ccieng2--using the "reply" option didn't give a viable address. & The way I view Thanksgiving is that a persecuted religious group gave & thanks for getting safely away from religious persecution. What is & unique is that so many different religious groups fled here, that they & turned the Pilgrim celebration into a general, giving of thanks for & being able to successfully flee persecution. Those parts of the & celebration that were American have survived, the other parts of the & original celebration vary by religion. & From the view point that Thanksgiving is celebrating the right to & celebrate one's religion without persecution from a secular body, which & is what the Pilgrims were doing, Thanksgiving may be viewed as a & celebration of one of the first steps of separation of church and state. Sam Hall, UCB ucbvax!bitamp@ucbtopaz