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Immigrant's
Weekly November 20, 2000
Arthur L. Zabenko, Editor
Nina Manchanda, Assistant Editor
Marc Ellis, Chat Transcripts Editor |
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A Note from the Editors:
WHAT IS THANKSGIVING?
Thanksgiving is based on a shared American cultural heritage more than on historical fact. Children are taught the first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in 1621 by
the English Pilgrims who had founded the colony of Plymouth in the state of
Massachusetts. The Pilgrims fled their home in England and sailed to America
in 1620 aboard the Mayflower in order to escape religious persecution.
Their first winter in America had killed 46 out of the 102 members of the
Colony. Fortunately the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one and the Governor
of Plymouth decreed a three-day feast to celebrate the good harvest. According to
tradition, the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the
help of the native Indians from the Wampanoag tribe and the feast included
91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. Although
this feast was never repeated, this 1621 feast has become a model of that
Americans think of for a Thanksgiving celebration.
For many years there was no national Thanksgiving holiday. In 1863, during the Civil War, President
Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday in
November. The Pesidential proclamation was renewed annually. Finally, in 1941,
Congress ruled that the fourth Thursday of November would be observed as a
federal legal holiday known as Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Day is meant to be a holiday for people to give thanks with
feasting and prayer for the blessings they have received during the year.
Thanksgiving Day in America is usually celebrated with the gathering of
friends and families and, in keeping with the idea of celebrating a
plentiful harvest, a large meal. In the past half century, watching football games on television after
the Thanksgiving meal has become a tradition.
Thanksgiving Day indicates the start of the holiday shopping season leading up to Christmas and New Year's Day.
New Home Page
ILW.COM has redesigned the home page to make it more attractive and easier to navigate. At the top of the page you can subscribe to our two free e-mail publications, Immigration Daily and Immigrant's Weekly. Beneath this attorneys will find links for case tracking, the membership in the attorney directory and other useful links. Immigrants and employers will find links to chat, forms and immigration information organized into family, employment, visitors and general categories. You can also use the find a lawyer page to search for an attorney, by name, location and language spoken. ILW.COM offers a wealth of information. We hope the redesigned page makes it easier for you to find the information you need and seek.
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Indochinese Parolees
John T. Combs writes that Section 586 of Public Law 106-429, the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2001, signed by President Clinton on November 6, 2000 provides new opportunities for parolees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to adjust their status and have their permanent residency back dated as of the date of entry into the US.
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| RECIPE OF THE WEEK |
Thanksgiving Feast
Immigrant's Weekly has launched Recipe of the Week. It is an opportunity
for you to share your favorite recipes with other visitors
to the site. Do you have a favorite dish you prepare to
remind you of your home country when you are feeling particularly
stressed or homesick? Have you found a new favorite dish
in your new land? What substitutes have you used for ingredients
you could not find? Submit your recipes to editor@ilw.com.
Each week we'll bring you the most taste-tempting, mouth-watering
recipes we receive.
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| ILW Highlights |
Would you like to find out how to get a Driver’s License?
Read how to get a Social Security card, open a Bank Account and more!
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An Important disclaimer! The information provided on this
page is not legal advice. Transmission of this information
is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not
constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers must
not act upon any information without first seeking advice
from a qualified attorney. © Copyright 2000 American Immigration
LLC, ILW.COM. Correspondence to editor@ilw.com.
Letters may be edited and may be published and otherwise
used in any medium.
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