Celebrating Thanksgiving in America - Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography: Thanksgiving Day American English (n.d ThanksGiving Day: Fourth Thursday in November . Retrieved from http americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/thanksgivingday.pdfThis web article is authored by a U.S. state agency. The article goes to relative detail in explaining the history of the Thanks Giving Day. According to the source, The American Thanks giving traces its history to the arrival of the Separatists from England to Plymouth. According to the source, the first Thanksgiving was held by the pilgrims in 1621.

At this time, the pilgrims celebrated the bountiful harvest they had gotten and appreciated Wampanoag Indians who had been instrumental to their survival in the New found land. According to the article, celebration of thanksgiving became a tradition among the colonists even after the declaration of independence. In November 1941, President Lincoln formally declared the last Thursday of the month a public holiday. The symbols of the celebration include corn, nuts, squash and pumpkins among other foods.

Barton, D. (November, 2008). Celebrating Thanksgiving in America. Retrieved from http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=17984This web article was authored by David Barton. The source provides a detailed historical background to the Thanksgiving Day as celebrated in America today. The source relies on several primary sources to bring to life the events that led to the institution of the last Thursday of November as a public holiday and national day of celebration. According to the author, the celebration of Thanksgiving in America is a tradition that was introduced by European Americans more than four centuries ago.

Barton notes that Thanksgiving Day traces its history to the arrival of the pilgrims from England to the New England. He notes that Thanks giving Day is not only a day to celebrate by feasting but is dedicated to giving thanks to God for His blessings. According to the source, the first congressional resolution for the institution of Thanks giving Day as a federal holiday was declared by President George Washington in 1789. The president declared the November 26, 1789 as a holiday. Colman, P. (2008). Thanksgiving: The True Story.

New York: Henry Holt and Company. In this book, Colman seeks to explore the origin the celebrations that are held in the U.S. every last fourth Thursday of November. Colman ideally seeks to answer the question as to whether the Thanks giving Day really traces its origins to the arrival of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts as commonly stated. The author gives different accounts of past happenings that together point at different origins of the Thanks giving Day. Pertinent to her discourse is the symbolic eating of turkeys on Thanks giving Day.

According to the author, many Americans love to celebrate together on Thanks giving Day and often have turkey - a symbol of abundance - as part of their diet. Arnould E. & Wallendorf, M. (June, 1991)   “WE Gather Together”: Consumption Rituals of Thanksgiving Day. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1): 13-31This journal article authored by Arnould and Wallendorf focuses on the activities and rituals that hallmark the Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. According to this source, American citizens commonly celebrate the day by eating traditional foods.

The main meat dish consumed during the day is a whole stuffed turkey. During the celebrations members of nuclear and extended families meet in private households. Other events that mark the day include parades in the morning and football games in the afternoon. According to the author, Thanksgiving Day is ideally a collective ritual that is marked by feasting and material consumption. It is a reflection of the material abundance that the country enjoys. Many citizens take the celebrations for granted considering the certainty of material abundance in the country.

For the citizens, abundance is not a onetime event but rather is a culture in the U.S. history.com (2014). First Thanksgiving Meal. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-mealIn this web article, the author gives a brief history of the origin of the Thanks Giving Day before proceeding to discuss the foods that might have been consumed by the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians during the first Thanksgiving. According to the source, William Bradford, the governor of the colony sent some of his men on a fowling mission as part of preparations for the event.

The colonists and their guests might have consumed wild birds including swans, geese, ducks, and turkeys during their celebrations as they were in plenty in the area. Having enjoyed a plentiful harvest, the pilgrims had a lot of vegetables, fish, pumpkin, and potatoes to feast on during their celebrations. It is such traditional foods that Americans tend to eat during their Thanks giving celebrations today.ReflectionI began writing my annotated bibliography by searching for different sources of information out of which I selected five that I felt had the kind of information that I was looking for.

I took notes as I read through the five sources ensuring that I recorded their bibliographic information. I wrote summaries of the sources and condensed them in subsequent editions as I corrected grammar and punctuation errors to come up with a final polished copy. I enjoyed learning how to write the annotated bibliography and feel so nice that I feel confident with what I have done. ReferencesAmerican English (n.d.). ThanksGiving Day: Fourth Thursday in November . Retrieved from http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/thanksgivingday.

pdfArnould E. & Wallendorf, M. (June, 1991)   “WE Gather Together”: Consumption Rituals of Thanksgiving Day. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1): 13-31Barton, D. (November, 2008). Celebrating Thanksgiving in America. Retrieved from http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=17984Colman, P. (2008). Thanksgiving: The True Story. New York: Henry Holt and Company (BYR). history.com (2014). First Thanksgiving Meal. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal