Thanksgiving 2014 Posted 25 November 2014 by Departed Member On behalf of the Guild of One-Name Studies, I would like to wish a “Happy Thanksgiving” to our 221 American members who will be celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday. For our worldwide membership we thought to share a little bit of history and fun about this holiday. In 1621 the Pilgrims and Wampanoag gathered to celebrate the Plymouth colony’s first successful harvest – the first Thanksgiving. In 1863 and in the midst of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. It is a day when Americans reflect on and give thanks for their blessings. In addition to the food, football and friends – it is a day for families to get together. Since the Pilgrims left from England’s shores and many Americans trace their roots to the United Kingdom, you might want to take a look to see if you share a surname with one currently being studied (see Guild Surname Search ). Among the Guild’s 7,277 registered surnames we found a few that call to mind the day – Feast, Fridge, Heritage, and Holiday. Best wishes for a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Corrinne Goodenough
Roger Lovegrove says 27 November 2014 at 2:29 am Why? In an international society, why pick on one country in particular? This has nothing whatsoever to do with ONSs. Will you be posting for St.George’s Day? St, Andrew’s? etc. How about Whitsun? Why America, and why this day? Every time you honour one country, or one person, by picking them out for special treatment, you insult those you did not pick out.
Anne Shankland says 27 November 2014 at 10:55 pm Roger, I agree that it has not much to do with ONS, but it has a lot to do with family, community, and friendship. I’d like to think that Guild members pursuing their ONS and giving each other help and advice to do so are also building a worldwide circle of friends and colleagues who appreciate each others’ interests. Thanksgiving is an important event in America and I feel it’s worth celebrating, even in England. Many of our names started in the UK and spread around the world; surely, as we trace our ONS from the UK to other countries, we should be interested in the customs of the places they moved to?
Julie Goucher says 1 December 2014 at 3:13 pm Roger and Anne, I like to think that the Guild, as an international organisation recognises those holidays celebrated by it’s members. Those holidays are an opportunity to not just eat, drink and be merry, but also and opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Remembering those no longer here and to embrace the background that perhaps our ancestors and the migrants within our ONS experienced. The largest group of Orlando’s outside of Italy is in the US. I wonder what those early Italian migrants thought of Thanks Giving.
Howard Benbrook says 15 December 2014 at 5:42 pm Well, I think Roger has a valid point: if the Guild aspires to be international, why single out just one nation? This ‘news’ is clearly intended to reach out to those members of the nation that has the largest potential for future membership and it’s nicely put, at that. I wouldn’t go so far, though, as to say that it “insults” other nations. Perhaps “neglects” would be a better word; in which case should we not recognise the national days of other nations, in their turn? Or would that merely turn this ‘news’ page into one of those ‘on this day’ blogs, that clutter up my news feeds and are only there because the writer can’t find anything else to say? Whatever the outcome, it will still need some hapless volunteer to write the text and review the comments…