Thanksgiving and The Spanish History

Thanksgiving is a day of appreciation and gratidude in America. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with loved ones and also a time to reflect. What has that to do with Spanish History? You may already know, or if not, then I know you would love to read the following article – Spanish, not English, was the first European language spoken in North America. There are more than 1,000 U.S. cities with Spanish names, as well as the states of California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Montana and Florida. The U.S. is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Most Americanos are bilingual, which is a plus since our exports to Latin America are nearly three times larger than our exports to China. Americano language skills and cultural affinity give our country a competitive advantage in doing business with a rapidly growing $6.4 trillion market of 579 million people in 21 countries plus Puerto Rico. Oh, and about that first Thanksgiving? Here are a couple of other things our children’s history books fail to mention: – In St. Augustine on September 8, 1565, the Spanish and the native Timucua celebrated what could arguably be called the first feast of Thanksgiving. That was 56 years before Plymouth. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/24/opinion/garcia-anglos-thanksgiving/ Living in a Spanish country, it is obviously worth while to make attempts to speak the language but, at the same time, learning the history of the country, or the Spanish History in general is also important. For some people the history of what Spain went through under the rule of Franco is too horrendous to want to contemplate learning about but there are many other amazing facts associated with the Spanish country and its people. Following is another interesting article, on thanksgiving and its origin. “The historical debate about which settlement celebrated Thanksgiving first here in the colonies points to the Sept. 8, 1565, Spanish festivities in what is now St. Augustine, giving Florida the honors. Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/11/24/3676075/thanksgivings-history-full-of.html#ixzz1eYQiTTjD” Regardless of the history of thanksgiving, living in Spain and the opportunity to learn Spanish in a beautiful setting is a thanksgiving blessing for many.