Tag: Thanksgiving

Commentary: Thanksgiving According to the Founding Fathers

Minnesota Sun Staff
Thanksgiving

Although the Pilgrims came in 1620 and held the First Thanksgiving shortly thereafter, the national holiday which we celebrate didn’t come into existence until 1863. But America was not without Thanksgiving celebrations in the intervening years. As the quotes below demonstrate, days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving became a frequent part of American life, particularly during the Revolutionary War.

This Thanksgiving, perhaps we would do well to go beyond our surface gratitude for things like “turkey,” “pie,” and “not having to wash the dishes,” and instead consider many of the benefits they included in their Thanksgiving lists.

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University at Buffalo Hosts Event About ‘Decolonizing Thanksgiving’

American Greatness
University of Buffalo

The New York University at Buffalo hosted a forum last week with a clear anti-Thanksgiving bias, questioning whether or not it is “right to celebrate Thanksgiving,” and discussed “decolonizing” the historic holiday.

As reported by Breitbart, the event was hosted on November 21st in the university’s Intercultural and Diversity Center (IDC), as part of a series of forums titled “Tough Topics.” These events are described as “weekly open forums” where current events, national and global, are discussed.

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Commentary: Five Ways to Not Let Politics Ruin Thanksgiving

Admin
Thanksgiving Dinner

Political divisions are ugly, and those divisions have spilled over onto the Thanksgiving table. One study found that “partisan differences cost American families 62 million person-hours of Thanksgiving time.” Presumably those same differences are impacting the quality of family time throughout the year.

Time to count our blessings has become another opportunity to count our grievances.

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America’s Largest Retail Group Says Holiday Shopping Sales to Grow More Slowly

The Center Square
Grocery Shopping

The largest retail group in the country says it expects consumers to spend more this holiday season, but the growth in sales will be slower than last year.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) said its 2024 forecast shows winter holiday spending is expected to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023.

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Commentary: Some Observations on My Nine-Week Christmas

Minnesota Sun Staff

This year, the Christmas spirit knocked at my door two weeks before Thanksgiving, smiled coyly, and settled in like some stray feline who’s struck gold with a warm hearth and a bowl of Friskies Seafood Sensations. Never before had this spirit arrived so early and so unexpectedly.

It started with a review copy of Faith Moore’s Christmas Karol, a novel that copycats the plot of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Here we meet Karol Charles, an attorney obsessed with success and money to the detriment of her husband, her two young children, her sister, and her employees. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, Karol is visited on Christmas Eve first by her deceased partner and then by three spirits of the season. Most of the action takes place in a hospital, a stroke of inspiration on Moore’s part as hospitals serve both the dying and the recovering. When we meet her, Karol’s soul is most decidedly on the critical list.

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Commentary: The Meaning of Thanksgiving Can Save America

Minnesota Sun Staff

Thanksgiving, according to Britannica.com, has come to “has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family.” This definition captures the ideals, more relevant than ever, of one of America’s favorite holidays. But these ideals are threatened, because America’s mainstream institutions have either rejected them, or have created an environment where they are no longer possible.

This is immediately obvious with the “woke” doctrine of race-based oppressor and oppressed, now promoted by academia, the media, entertainers, politicians, and corporations. Maybe the fellowship of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians is mostly fable, cruelly debunked by history.

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Analysis: The Unfinished Work Congress Is Leaving Behind as It Breaks for Thanksgiving

Admin

Both houses of Congress have adjourned for two weeks until after Thanksgiving even as major legislative work that must be completed before the year ends remains unfinished.

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Higher Prices Hit the Holiday Season as Black Friday Approaches

The Center Square

Americans will pay higher prices for a range of goods and services for the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday shopping this year, and it looks like things may only get worse as we draw nearer to Christmas.

Those driving for the holidays and of course those preparing the Thanksgiving meal will pay the price this year. Federal inflation data from the Commerce Department shows energy costs have risen 17.6% in the past year, and overall food costs increased 10.9% in the same time.

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Farm Bureau Survey Finds Thanksgiving to Be the Most Expensive Yet as Cost Rises 20 Percent

Just the News

Thanksgiving dinner will cost 20% more this year compared to last year, according to a Farm Bureau survey published Wednesday, with the market signaling record-high prices for the second year in a row.

The average cost to feed 10 people for Thanksgiving will be $64.05, or under $6.50 per person, the Farm Bureau said. This is a $10.74 or 20% cost increase from 2021’s average of $53.31, which was also a record high at the time, according to historical data.

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Americans Can Expect Record-Setting Gas Prices over Thanksgiving

Minnesota Sun Staff

The average national gasoline price during Thanksgiving will be at its highest level since 2012, according to estimates from the fuel-saving app GasBuddy.

Thanksgiving gas prices on average will hit $3.68 per gallon, almost 30 cents higher than they were during 2021 and more than 20 cents higher than the previous record of $3.44 a gallon set in 2012, according to a GasBuddy news release. Gas prices have reached record highs in 2022 due to increased post-pandemic demand, fuel-refining constraints and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Foreigners Illegally Entering U.S. Come from 106 Different Countries, Border Patrol Says

Minnesota Sun Staff

While most Americans are legally traveling to visit relatives and celebrate during the holidays, Border Patrol agents are being inundated with illegal travelers arriving at the U.S. southern border from more than 100 different countries this year.

Border Patrol agents assigned to Del Rio Sector in Texas, for example, arrested people coming from African and former Soviet countries over Thanksgiving, as well as known sex offenders from Mexico and Nicaragua.

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Border Patrol Agents Apprehend Foreign Nationals Illegally Entering U.S. from Multiple Countries

The Center Square

While most Americans were legally traveling to visit relatives and celebrate Thanksgiving enjoying a few days off of work, Border Patrol agents were hard at work in Texas inundated with illegal travelers arriving at the U.S. southern border.

Border Patrol agents assigned to Del Rio Sector in Texas, for example, arrested people coming from African and former Soviet countries over Thanksgiving, as well as known sex offenders from Mexico and Nicaragua.

From Nov. 23-27, agents apprehended six Eritrean nationals who traveled from the northeast African country to the southern U.S. after the Biden administration halted immigration laws established by Congress.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: Thanksgiving, an American Tradition

Admin

Thanksgiving means a lot more than turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.

More than 401 years ago, courageous pilgrims set sail across the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower to start a new life in North America.  They arrived at Plymouth on November 11, 1620, after a dangerous crossing and founded a new settlement where they could practice their faith freely.

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Thanksgiving Dinner, Travel, Black Friday Shopping More Expensive as Inflation Continues to Rise

The Center Square
People on an escalator in an indoor shopping mall

As Americans prepare for Thanksgiving this year, traveling and cooking a family dinner will be significantly more expensive.

Inflation has increased by more than 6.2% this year, according to the consumer price index (CPI), representing the highest rate of price hikes in nearly 31 years.

In January 2021, before Biden “took over the presidency, annual inflation was at a stable 1.4 percent,” Americans for Tax Reform notes. “While inflation has already hit American families hard, President [Joe] Biden is pushing policies which would make this problem even worse.”

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Commentary: The History of the Word ‘Turkey’

Admin

“Meleagris Gallopavo Day” is a bit of a mouthful. Which may be why this Thanksgiving, most people will opt for the less ornithologically precise “Turkey Day.”

And just as turkey is a versatile meat – think of those leftover options! – so too is the word “turkey,” which can refer to everything from the bird itself to a populous Eurasian country to movie flops.

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‘A Celebration of the Ongoing Genocide’: Workshop Suggests ‘Reparations,’ ‘National Day of Mourning’ to ‘Decolonize’ Thanksgiving

Minnesota Sun Staff

Two University of Oregon alumni spearheaded an hour-long discussion Thursday titled “Thanks, But No Thanks-giving: Decolonizing an American Holiday.”

The event description promoted the virtual workshop as a discussion about how we can “continue to show gratitude while raising our critical consciousness and identifying ways to decolonize the holiday.”

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Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Religious Rights and Freedoms This Thanksgiving

The Center Square
People putting wine glasses together for a toast

The majority of Americans, 73%, say their rights come from God, not government, and say government can’t force Americans to violate their religious beliefs, according to a poll conducted by Summit.org and McLaughlin and Associates.

“There’s a widening gap between the dominant media narrative and what the American people actually believe,” Dr. Jeff Myers of Summit.org said in a statement accompanying the poll results. “We’re seeing that in these numbers. As we approach a holiday established to thank God for His blessings on our nation, the American people still believe that our rights come from God, not from government, and that the right to believe and practice our religion must be respected.

“Despite everything, it is encouraging to see that Americans still acknowledge the freedoms that made this nation great.”

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Commentary: The Insufferable Piety of the Progressive Elites

Minnesota Sun Staff

Freedom in Australia is now at the mercy of a state and its police apparatus bent on controlling people’s every movement.

But despite the extensive footage of protests gone violent, neither American liberal media nor domestic social justice movements are raising alarms about police brutality in that country.

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Commentary: Marxism Nearly Killed the Pilgrims: The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving

Minnesota Sun Staff

November of 1621 marked one-year in the New World for a band of what began as 35 English religious separatists and 67 entrepreneurs who had landed on the shores of New England. In their first winter, harsh conditions and diseases like pneumonia and scurvy led to the death of forty-five of the original 102.

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Judge Michael Warren Commentary: Thanksgiving’s Historical Relationship with Religion

Minnesota Sun Staff

Turkey and stuffing. Detroit Lions Football. Turkey Trots. Parades and the arrival of Santa. Followed by frenzied shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Maybe a bit of charity on Giving Tuesday. The ultimate American holiday. What more could you need?

Gratitude. Blessings. Humility. Although historical debate surrounds the origins of Thanksgiving in colonial America, it has a deeply rooted core that today is overshadowed by consumerism and entertainment culture.

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Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dishes by State

Jacob Taylor

Thanksgiving is all about spending quality time with family and friends away from the everyday responsibilities such as work and school, but the holiday really centers around the large afternoon feast where so much food is consumed that a nap is usually required immediately afterward.

And everybody knows that Turkey is the mainstay of traditionally Thanksgiving meals, hence the nickname Turkey Day, but what about the side dishes? Which classic sides are more popular than others?

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UVA Student Newspaper Opinion Writer: ‘Stand Up’ to ‘Racist Family’ at Thanksgiving

Minnesota Sun Staff

An opinion columnist at the University of Virginia’s student newspaper encouraged her readers to “stand up” to “racist family” at Thanksgiving.

Emma Camp, who writes a regular opinion column for the Cavalier Daily, asserted that “white progressives must privilege their principles over personal comfort” in conversations with family during the holiday season. In order to fulfill this mandate, they “need to stand up to their racist loved ones.”

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Nevada Governor Orders Indoor Mask Mandate, Limits Private Gatherings Ahead of Thanksgiving

Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Sunday strengthened the state’s mask mandate and limited attendees in private gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving.

Residents must wear face coverings whether gathering indoors or outside if any member that’s not in their household is present, according to a press release from the governor’s office. Private gatherings are limited to 10 people from a maximum of two separate households and public events will be capped at 50 people or 25% capacity, whichever is less, the order, which will last a total of three weeks, read.

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Gov. Walz Deems Thanksgiving Dinner a ‘Mini-Spreader Event’, Warns Minnesotans to Stay Home

The Center Square

In a Tuesday media call, Gov. Tim Walz designated extended family Thanksgivings as “mini-spreader events.”

“That Thanksgiving dinner or watching that football game, or movie … is a riskier proposition than getting your hair cut at a salon where everyone is masked, distanced,” Walz said.

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Northam Restricts Large Groups, Night Drinking, Expands Mask Mandate Ahead of Thanksgiving

Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced new coronavirus restrictions Friday, only a few weeks ahead of Thanksgiving.

“COVID-19 is surging across the country, and while cases are not rising in Virginia as rapidly as in some other states, I do not intend to wait until they are. We are acting now to prevent this health crisis from getting worse,” the governor said in a statement.

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Commentary: Black Friday Is Capitalism at Its Most Beautiful

Minnesota Sun Staff

I went to a Daily Mass on Black Friday last year. The priest didn’t waste too much time with the homily, but he made a few comments about Thanksgiving and a statement about Black Friday which I found hopefully refreshing. He said, “This is a day for the poor.” Of course, he’s right, but how often do we think of Black Friday in those terms? As Thanksgiving and Black Friday approach once again, let us reflect on this concise but incredibly profound statement.

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Commentary: Why the Pilgrims Abandoned Common Ownership for Private Property

Minnesota Sun Staff

Next year at this time, Americans will mark the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in 1620 and the subsequent founding of the Plymouth colony by English Separatists we know as the Pilgrims. They, of course, became the mothers and fathers of the first Thanksgiving.

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Commentary: How to Ensure Productive Thanksgiving Debates

Minnesota Sun Staff

We all have ideas we defend religiously, especially in a debate with others. There’s the passionate friend who sees capitalist abuses in the homeless man on the street. Or the neighbor who sees any defense of national borders as an assault on international human dignity. Perhaps you’ve even been that person yourself.

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Disgraced Senator Al Franken Reflects on ‘Experience of Women’ in Thanksgiving Statement

Anthony Gockowski

Disgraced Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) released a lengthy statement over the holiday weekend in which he claims that he’s spent “this past year thinking about the broader conversation we’ve been having about the experience of women in this country.” This time last year Franken was facing pressure to resign after…

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