本日はJesse先生が先日ブログでも紹介したアメリカの祝日について書いてくれました(^^)

お楽しみください♪

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm writing this blog on Thursday, Nov 28^th, and today is American Thanksgiving. Last weekend was Japanese Thanksgiving too, so this blog is double Thanksgiving!

They are very different holidays, though. "Thanksgiving" isn't really the best translation for the Japanese holiday. Most English translations say "Labor Thanksgiving" in calendars. My understanding is that in Japan, it's a day to show thanks and respect for workers. America has a holiday like that as well, but it's not Thanksgiving. That holiday is called Labor Day, and it is on May 1^st. That would be a better English translation for the Japanese holiday last weekend. I think they chose "Thanksgiving" only because it was a holiday saying "thank you" and around the same time as American Thanksgiving.

American Thanksgiving isn't about saying thank you to workers. It's about saying thank you to life in general. When people first came to America from Europe, the winter was a very dangerous time. They had trouble finding food, and their homes were not well protected from the cold weather. Every winter, a lot of people died. The most famous example of this was the town of Jamestown. Jamestown, Virginia, was the very first permanent town for English people in America. However, 80% of the people died in the first winter there.

That's why people started saying "thank you" on the last Thursday of November. Winter was coming, and they all might die, so they showed their appreciation for all the good things they had experienced until then, before it was too late. They thanked their friends, and their families, and they thanked God. In a way, it was more like a funeral or a good-bye party. It was a chance to enjoy one final great meal with their loved ones before the winter starts.

Of course, winter is not dangerous in America any more. The Thanksgiving tradition was strong though, so we continue the spirit of saying thank you. We remember that life is precious, and that we never know what will happen in the future, so we take this chance to tell the people we love how important they are. That's why Thanksgiving is mostly a family holiday. You should spend it with the most important people in your life, and you should make sure you tell them how much you care.

When was the last time you clearly told the people you love how you feel? If there was a disaster tomorrow, is there something you would regret not saying? We often assume that there will always be a tomorrow, but that's not always true. So, I encourage you all to celebrate this Thanksgiving with me. You don't have to eat turkey or watch football. All you have to do, to really celebrate Thanksgiving, is tell somebody you love them, and thank them for being in your life.

By the way, thank you all for being my precious students!