The History of Thanksgiving
As we start our Thanksgiving preparation, have you thought about the history of the holiday? When many of us think of Thanksgiving, the first thing that may come to mind is eating turkey, or spending time with family and friends, or even how it kicks off the upcoming Holiday season. However, the history of Thanksgiving is rather rich and there is a specific reason why we celebrate by eating turkey, spending time with family and friends and even reflecting on what we have to be thankful for throughout the year.
The first Thanksgiving presumably took place in 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people. It started one day while the Pilgrims left to go bird hunting, but the Wampanoag people unexpectedly showed up at the Colony. Over the course of a few days, the two groups of people became acquainted and began to learn more about each other. They feasted on venison, stews, vegetables and beer in addition to the game birds that were recently hunted. During this time they also participated in several games and socialized although there was a language barrier. The Colonists were accustomed to regularly giving thanks for their blessings by celebrating days of prayer, but it wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln’s presidency that this day was celebrated as a National holiday.
Interestingly enough, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to extend the holiday shopping season in order to boost the economy. It seems as though Black Friday shopping isn’t as recent as we once thought!
Thanksgiving Preparation for the Ultimate Celebration
Believe it or not, the Thanksgiving holiday is actually the busiest holiday with regards to vehicular travel. According to the folks at Travel+Leisure, nearly 47 million people will be traveling for the holiday and more than 89% are traveling by vehicle. It’s especially important that if you are planning a trip out of town, to plan ahead for traffic delays and busy hotels so that you can still make it to your destination safely and on time. And if you are the lucky one to be hosting, planning ahead for guests is absolutely essential. Here are a few tips to getting your home ready as part of your Thanksgiving preparation:
- Do a quick walk through your home to take notes of any areas that will need extra attention
- Ensure that you have enough cleaning supplies
- Start with a kitchen deep cleaning
- Pull out your dishes and flatware to make sure they are in good shape and recently cleaned
- Prep guest room by cleaning and vacuuming
- Freshen up your guests’ linens and ensure that they have enough toiletries available to make them feel comfortable
- Wash and iron any table linens
- Clean and sanitize bathrooms
- Dust ceiling fans and furniture
- Sweep porch and driveway
- Vacuum throughout the house and clean glass surfaces such as windows and doors
- Set the table and enjoy your meal!
Preparing for Thanksgiving by Ordering a Dumpster Rental
In the event that you need to make more space for guests to stay, call us for a dumpster rental! Whether you have a little or a lot of junk that needs to be tossed, we have the right size dumpster rental for you. Not only do we have a 100% driveway protection guarantee, but we also guarantee next day delivery. So we could have your dumpster rental delivered and picked up in plenty of time before your guests arrive. Call us now at 727-475-1080 to learn more about our sizes and availability.