The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth (1914) by Jennie A. Brownscombe (1850-1936)

Freedom From Want (1943) by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)

From across the pond, those turkey dinners, wholesome Americans with smiling faces round the table, look just like a typical English Christmas. The difference being we didn’t have to cross the Atlantic in a small sailing ship to earn the tradition. We just sent you our Puritans and trouble-makers and consequently, remarkably, we had a part in making something bigger and better than we expected. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone everywhere in the World then even those not sitting celebrating whatever it is they are thankful for with the traditional three generations of family with their 2.5 laughing children.

Anyway, how come though that you Americans get to have two Christmases? One is enough for us. Two is just plain greedy. Do you get to wear silly paper hats and pull crackers?

The corny one-liner jokes inside our crackers were an American tradition but I don’t know if there are Thanksgiving crackers. After mentioning those crackers, I just have to end with a typical cracker joke:

What do you call a penguin in the Sahara desert? Lost. 

OK, one more:

What do you give the man who has everything? Antibiotics.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone – and USA, thanks for the jokes.

Finally, I have to add this. Sorry to go on. Today may be Thanksgiving in the States but it falls this year on Saint Cecilia’s Day (Cecilia  being the patron saint of music) and if any of you would like to celebrate today for whatever reason, there’s nothing more suitable than the music of that great, er, yes, English composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695). His  Ode For Saint Cecilia’s Day, ‘Hail Bright Cecilia!’ hits all the right notes especially in this wonderful performance: