As we pause to celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember all we have to be thankful for, including freedom, our families, our health and so much more.

It originated as a day of thanksgiving and harvest festival, with the theme of the holiday revolving around giving thanks and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remaining a Thanksgiving dinner, according to Wikipedia.

During the Pilgrims' first year, they suffered tragic loss of many of those who had crossed the ocean with them. If it wasn't for the Wampanoag Native Americans, who helped them plant their crops and harvest them, it would have been a lot harder. The next year, the two groups celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, America, in November 1621. As they gathered, they thanked God for the harvest before enjoying a feast of turkey, stuffing, corn, cranberries, green beans, sweet and mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, corn, green beans, cranberries and pumpkin pie. In today's world, the meal usually consists of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries and a dessert. Others like to include ham into the mix, which happens to be a favorite of mine.

Over the years, it also has become a time to provide meals for the unfortunate, while others watch parades and a plethora of football games. In addition, it signals the start of the holiday season with Christmas and New Year.

It has been a national celebration on and off since 1789 with President George Washington declaring a proclamation for Thanksgiving to be celebrated Nov. 26, 1789, according to Wikipedia. The tradition was intermittent until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” He called on the American people to also, “with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience .. fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation...” Lincoln declared it for the last Thursday in November. Finally, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill to establish Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November in 1941. Since then, it has been a tradition for America to celebrate it in November every year.

As we celebrate this year's Thanksgiving, let us remember everything we have to be thankful for in this great land.