In the midst of the cooking and cleaning frenzy prior to the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, I started to hum the childhood song "Thanksgiving Day" by Lydia Maria Child. This American holiday not only celebrates the hearth and harvest as families and friends gather together but the ideals of our freedom and history.
As you ponder the significance of this holiday, feel free to stop by and borrow some compact discs from our music collection. Charles Ives, the eccentric Connecticut Yankee, included "Thanksgiving and Forefathers' Day" as part of his New England Holidays. Piano soloist George Winston selected "Thanksgiving" as part of his December: Piano Solos. Soprano Kathleen Battle tells us "Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass" from her Spirituals in Concert album. Count Basie's used "Shine On, Harvest Moon" as part of his Greatest Hits.
For those who may not remember the "Thanksgiving Day" poem and song from school, here is the first verse:
Over the river, and through the wood,
To grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way,
To carry the sleigh,
Through the white and drifted snow.