The day before Thanksgiving...

A few tidbits of information I've picked up:

I knew the Pilgrims came for religious freedom, in 1620. I knew they lost half their members during the first winter, leaving 51. I knew they had a bountiful harvest and invited 90 Native Americans to share in that harvest.

I didn't know they ate and played games and sports for three days. I didn't know the Pilgrims insisted on paying the Native Americans for their land. The Native Americans thought it silly because the tribes fought over it, transferring between the tribes to the one able to maintain the power of control at any given time.

The Pilgrims didn't understand moving from place to place, and the Native Americans didn't understand settling in one place and never moving from it.

Thanks, Diane, for doing the homework on this: An Englishman's perspective of Thanksgiving Day, written in 1832:
http://www.riskyregencies.com/2014/11/24/chambers-book-of-days/

Abraham Lincoln established it as a permanent holiday. If you want to blame someone for commercializing the holiday, look no further than Franklin D. Roosevelt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

It's also a day of stress for a lot of people. Plan ahead for the unexpected; I know it sounds silly, but you already know something won't go right so don't beat yourself up when it doesn't. Plan an exit strategy for those who need it. Give yourself permission to take care of yourself. You've made it through all the past ones; you will make it through this one. Do not forget to breath and laugh.