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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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THIS week, the entire country will officially start the holiday season via the age-old tradition of Thanksgiving.
As we all know, Thanksgiving is more than just roast turkeys and cranberry sauce. In the American way of life, it’s a lot deeper that.
Here’s the original Thanksgiving Story.
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company’s interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Native Americans who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true “thanksgiving” observance. It lasted three days.
Governor William Bradford sent “four men fowling” after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term “turkey” was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
This “thanksgiving” feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe drought, the Pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain.
When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Native American friends. It wasn’t until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.
On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Native Americans, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists’ recent victory over the “heathen natives,”
October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies’ Magazine, and later, in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale’s obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Every president proclaimed Thanksgiving after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.
Now, I asked a number of Pinoys based here in New York and New Jersey about their own concept of thanksgiving.
What is thanksgiving?- “Thanksgiving is thanking God for turkey” – Lina, 49, Jersey City
- “Thanksgiving... I thank you for thanksgiving me” – Joey 55. Bloomfield
- “ Thanksgiving - di ba yun yung pasasalamat sa mga Indian?” – Santos, 31, Queens
- “Thanksgiving is giving thanks to the American people” – Arman, 21, Flushing
- “Thank you President Bush” – Deborah, 40, Bronx
- “Being grateful for a great year that was” – Anton, 27, Bergenfield
- “It’s the start of the Christmas bonus period” – Jhong-Jhong, 34, Queens
- “Giving thanks for a wonderful harvest” – Barney, 22, Bayonne
- “Thanksgiving is a way of saying thank you” – Pining, 48, Jersey City
- “we should all be thankful for thanksgiving” – Menchi, 29, Manhattan
Whatever it is to anybody, for me, thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the bountiful blessings all of us get from nature and the Higher Up.
It is also a time to renew and enjoy the company of family and friends, who, if not for them, this important holiday would be reduced to a mere Turkey feast.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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Ted Reyes is a musician, composer, record producer and journalist based in NYC. If you have any comments you can visit his website at www.tedreyes.com or email him at tedreyes@mac.com
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MANILA --- Alessandra de Rossi is a certified box office star in Singapore. Her horror film, ‘The Maid,’ made a killing there. But she feels sad that the movie is not being released here. ‘May distributor sana, but they backed out dahil ang dami ng pirated copies dito,’ she sighs. ‘Sayang kasi I’m proud of the movie, but I’m glad the producer made money in Singapore.’
She’s now doing another fright flick, “Kutob,” Canary Films’ entry in the December filmfest. “This is a suspense-thriller. I play Mayen, the best friend of Rica Peralejo. Iím paired with James Blanco. Rica’s boyfriend is Ryan Agoncillo, but they break up and Marvin Agustin becomes obsessed with her. That’s when the killings start.”
Alex feels glad to be part of the hit series, “Darna.” “Playing Valentina has a strong impact. In public, kids are scared of me. Ayaw magpa-picture sa’kin. Lalo ko naman silang tinatakot.”
We saw her on date with Jeremy Marquez at the Gateway preview of “Legend of Zorro.” Also dating out that night were Joey Marquez and Alicia Meyer, and Paolo Bediones and a pretty girl named Jenny, said to be a dentist. So she and Jeremy are really an item? “Okay kami, but let’s not talk about him anymore. Hindi naman siya part ng ‘Kutob.’ Basta okay kami.”
Is it true her sister Assunta is annoyed that she has no assignments with ABS-CBN? “I can understand her. Kasi ‘di ba she was pirated from GMA-7? E, bakit parang hindi siya naalagaan ng tama?”
How about her two other sisters, Margareta, 15, and Isabel, 12? “They were on vacation here last month at gusto ring mag-showbiz. But honestly, I wish they’d just finish their studies and get another career. It’s hard to be in showbiz, kasi hindi ka puedeng magpahinga. Like me, kahit sick ako, taping pa rin.”
Her ex-BF, Polo Ravales, is getting good feedback for “Penis Talks Reloaded.” How does she feel about this? “I haven’t seen the play myself kasi busy ako, but I’m happy for him. He deserves it dahil isang taon siyang naburo’t walang trabaho.” (MNS)
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MANILA --- Is it true that TV couple Angelica Jones and Bobby Yan are now history?
How true is the report that Onemig Bondoc, their co-host in IBC 13’s “Chowtime,” has offered Angelica his shoulder to cry on?
Angelica, bless her, has remained mum about the reason for their rumored break-up. She had always been honest to the members of media about her feelings for Bobby. Obviously, she thought all along that he sincerely loved her.
“Bobby is Angelica’s first and great love. Masakit talaga itong nangyari sa kanila ni Bobby. Kaya, if you notice, nawala ang pagkakikay ni Angelica. Nag-e-emerge lang ang kanyang pagiging komedyante kapag nakaharap siya sa camera,” said a kibitzer.
Onemig professes to be loveless at the moment. But he has yet to make a pronouncement on how he feels about Angelica.
He has been linked to a number of celebrities. One of them was a teenage newcomer whom he later discovered to be his cousin.
For a while, Onemig was linked to China Cojuangco, the younger sister of Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski. They got to know each other on the set of “Dahil May Isang Ikaw,” which starred Onemig with Mikee and Aga Muhlach.
Onemig and China were sweethearts for sometime. It was a surprise to us when news went around that China was dating Wowie de Guzman, formerly Judy Ann Santos’ sweetheart and screen partner.
It was by accident that we discovered that Onemig and sexy recording artist Sheree were playing beautiful music. (MNS)
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Cesar Montano received a special grand prize as Best Director from the jurors of the ongoing Brussels International Film Festival the other night for his movie “Panaghoy sa Suba.” Earlier, the multi-awarded movie was premiered in Brussels to a jampacked crow, making the premiere event a huge hit!
The premiere screening drew a really large crowd that amazed the organizers led by Robert Malengrau who was reportedly very pleased by the very successful premiere screening of the movie.
About 70% of the crowd were Filipinos who even had to travel three hours to reach the venue. There were about a hundred more who couldn’t be accommodated anymore inside the theater because of lack of space.
Cesar was of course mobbed by his adoring fans, and when the people at the filmfest saw this, they wondered if Cesar was a rock star!
Cesar arrives today from Belgium but in a few days he’ll be packing his bags anew, this time for Melbourne, Australia for a show with Rico J. Puno. From Australia, Cesar will proceed to Los Angeles, California where he is slated to meet with his agents and await some auditions.
By the way, we were told there won’t be any Filipino film to be shown at the Oscars next year. Which is too bad because “Panaghoy sa Suba” could be a good film to be shown there, or anywhere in the world where there are Filipinos.
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MANILA --- Rica Peralejo is Canary Films’ signature star for their Metro filmfest entries.
After hits like “Malikmata” and “Spirit of the Glass,” Rica now appears in their third horror flick, “Kutob,” again directed by Joey Reyes.
“I play Erica, an ordinary office girl who’s so different from me in real life,” she says. “A manghuhula tells me may panganib sa buhay ko pero hindi ako naniwala. Ryan Agoncillo is my boyfriend and I suspect he’s two-timing me, so we break up.
I meet Marvin Agustin, who’s sobrang bait here pero may sira pala sa ulo and gets obsessed with me. Diyan nagsimula ang tilian sa movie when my friends start dying one by one.”
This is her third movie this year after the digital film “Dilim” shown in the Cinemanila Filmfest and the Bearwin Meily comedy, “Hari ng Sablay,” which has yet to be completed. What delays “Hari ng Sablay”? “Ang stars kasi, combined from GMA-7 and ABS-CBN, so ayun, hirap na hirap silang i-schedule kaming lahat for the big scenes. Mauuna pa ngayong ipalabas itong Kutob’.”
She’s delighted to work with Joey Reyes again. “He’s so easy to work with at gamay na gamay na kami sa isa’t isa. When he says we’ll shoot that time, asahan mo, gagawin niya and he’s a fast worker.”
Her role here as Erica is said to be more demanding than in their past films. Will she have a chance to win the filmfest best actress this time? “Hindi siguro. You know naman what wins, ‘yung mga nasa straight drama. This is a suspense-thriller so baka hindi seryosohin ng judges. But who knows? Sana. We can’t tell naman, di ba?”
Her ex-boyfriend, Bernard Palanca, has found a new love to replace her. How about her? “Wala pa rin. Pero hindi ko naman hinahanap. At this point, I’m just happy to be busy in films and on TV. I’m still young and I’m willing to wait for the right guy.” (MNS)
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MANILA -- Is former child actress Snooky Serna ready to totally give up husband Ricardo Cepeda?
No, she’s not, she revealed in an interview. But if reports are true that Ricardo has found someone more worthy of his love, she might just reconsider, she said.
Snooky and Ricardo have called it quits a few months back. He lives in their old house with their two kids, while Snooky stays at a condominium unit.
It’s now Annabelle Rama who is helping Snooky with her showbiz career. Leo Dominguez, a member of the Professional Artists Managers, Inc., was Snooky’s former talent manager. (MNS)
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