For those of you who want to know how the French celebrate Thanksgiving Day, here is a link to Art Buchwald's column from Paris:

http://tinyurl.com/92bxf

On a more serious note, it has always interested me that there is so much emphasis on the Pilgrim Dads.
Why do people not remember the original colony in Virginia which was established long before the Pilgrim Poppas set off?

>Why do people not remember the original colony in Virginia...<

Poor press agent?

Ira: Thanks for posting Art Buchwald's classic. It deserves to be read every year.

As to Virginia and press agents, I am reminded of Bob Newhart's sketch of Sir Walter Raleigh trying in vain to sell the idea of growing tobacco to a very skeptical agent back in England.

At any rate, a happy Thanksgiving to all in America. Here in the frozen north, we had our turkey etc six weeks ago.

Cher Ira,

Art Buchwald certainly did a great job trying to explain Thanksgiving to the French, but why butcher their language when there are perfectly acceptable and comprehensible English words for that?

"On the fourth Thursday in November, American families sit down at a large table brimming with tasty dishes and, for the only time during the year, eat better than the French do"

They certainly do, especially as this is a normal working day for the rest of the world including France. No hint of Thansgiving at my daily cantine...

The Americans enjoying their turkey in their warm houses are certainly luckier than the French who already have had two holidays in November, on the 1st, putting flower pots on the graves of their dear departed (All saint's day) in cold cemetaries, and on the 11st (WWI armistice), laying wreaths on war memorials in draughty town squares!

Thanks, Ira. I have not read it before and really had a good laugh. Happy Thanksgiving to you and all fodorites. I learned a lot from the forum.

Classic Buchwald, second IMO only to his column explaining to the French why the US was so upset with Nixon (it ended up having something to do with putting ketchup on cheese).

And Josser, if the Virginians had thousands of descendants running around today, we'd probably remember them more too, although I do agree with you that other early settlers sometimes get short shrift in history classes (not as short as the folks who were here when the Europeans landed, though).

Happy Thanksgiving from Florida, home of the oldest and longest-lived European settlement in the US (St. Augustine)!