COOLEST THANKSGIVING FACTS

·         The first known thanksgiving feast or festival in North America was celebrated by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and the people he called "Tejas" (members of the Hasinai group of Caddo-speaking Native Americans).

·         The first Thanksgiving was not a feast, but rather a time when Native Americans helped Pilgrims by bringing them food and helping them build off the land.

·         Thomas Jefferson thought the concept of Thanksgiving was "the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard."

·         Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey. Because he simply liked it.

·         Here's one of those funny Thanksgiving facts: Turkeys have heart attacks. When the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier, fields of turkeys would drop dead.

·         Fossil evidence shows that turkeys roamed the Americas 10 million years ago.

·         It was not until 1941, that congress declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday. It was declared to be the fourth Thursday in November.

·         91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

·         Every President since Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving Day. But in 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November to lengthen the holiday shopping season. This upset people.

·         The North American holiday season (generally the Christmas shopping season in the U.S.) traditionally begins when Thanksgiving ends, on "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving); this tradition has held forth since at least the 1930s.

·         Corn is one of the popular symbols of thanksgiving. It came in many varieties and colors - red, white, yellow and blue. Some Americans considered blue and white corn sacred. The oldest corns date 7000 years back and were grown in Mexico.

·         A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.

Happy Halloween

When I first arrived in the Czech Republic in 2001 there was no Halloween here. Yup, no pumpkins, no trick or treating and no costumes… I remember my basic attempt of creating a Halloween party for my students – mean less to say only my 7 year old son Andrew came in Harry Potter costume (which I spend days and days sowing and making.) There was no pumpkin pie or there was no pumpkin latte, just crude replies “you’re in the Czech Republic, we don’t celebrate it here.”

15 years later, and I am having a hard time distinguishing between the Halloween fevers here or in the USA. Every child gets a paper as early as first class with pictures of ghosts, witches and pumpkins to color, cut, glue and well… memorize.

Here in Prague there is a very small “American neighborhood” which ironically doesn’t have that many Americans living there but is located right next to the American School. Additionally, years back it was designed and built according to the American suburbian architecture. Given the fact that so many international families live there and have such strong connections to the local school, they organize a yearly trick or treating event.  I went there for the first time last year and was completely amazed. It was almost the best trick or treating even I have ever been to  - even better than the ones in the good old USA.  Not only did my second and now the youngest son, got a basket full of candy but he managed for the first time to experience a true Halloween.

This year I decided to go again and even invite some students. Part of me really didn’t believe that any will show up, but they did and we all had a marvelous time.

With this I would like to thank all the lovely families in NEBUSICE, Prague for organizing such yearly event and to all the students who found some time to celebrate this unusual event. 

Kamila and Michal - I didn't even recognize them at the bus stop

They all arrived on time... and yes that is Tomas

since all my students think I am a witch at times (test time) I decided to really get in the role

this is where I buried the students who hadn't done their homework

who is that? Jan (a bit different than in class)

ooopssss, I forgot to hide all the body pieces

Trick or Treat