Thanksgiving is the winding up of autumn. The leaves are off the trees, except here and there on a beech or an oak; there is nothing left on the boughs but a few nuts and empty birds' nests. The earth looks desolate, and it will be a comfort to have the snow on the ground, and to hear the merry jingle of the sleigh-bells.

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~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Thanksgiving Day, as celebrated by the Pilgrims, is essentially a late autumnal harvest festival.