Once again, we have reached that day in the calendar when we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thomas Jefferson thought that the holiday that was first held in 1621 as a three-day harvest feast should not be declared a national holiday by the federal government – separation of church and state was his reason. It was okay for each state to have such a festival; just not the federal folks.
When I was a teacher at a nationally recognized hospital for patients with respiratory disease, we had an incredibly creative music teacher. One year, she decided that the entire hospital should celebrate Thanksgiving – patients and staff joining together for the event. At that time, the patients – children and adults lived for months at the hospital. There was no going home for the holidays.
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