How did your family celebrate thanksgiving when you were a child?

Well, that's an easy one...... brought up in Britain we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving as it is celebrated in North America. I imagine the closest celebration was a 'Harvest Thanksgiving' which,for us brought up in towns, was a special service at church. It may have been different if you were living in a farming community where a successful harvest was the end to a year's work. For us, the church was decorated with sheaves of wheat -yes, collected into sheaves.

I do remember when, before combine harvesters, the wheat fields were harvested and the bundles of wheat tied into sheaves and stacked in 'stooks' to dry before being gathered in for threshing. Other decorations were baskets of fruits and vegetables, bread baked into the shape of wheatsheafs and huge vases of autumn flowers. The smell of chrysanthemums always takes me back to that day. It was always very colourful and felt very abundant.

It was always aound September / October time, though I don't remember it being associated with a particular religious festival. I remember singing this hymn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k43ysxLzc0' and also ' All things Bright and Beautiful' which is such a lovely simple song. Love.