Happy Thanksgiving!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

The time of year has come where we shall

 gather with our families and friends and 

celebrate Thanksgiving. Most of all we will 

celebrate being with our families and friends.

Grateful for the blessings we have and have had all year.

Last year, families and friends were not able to come

 together because of the pandemic. For most of us 

we quietly celebrated wishing we could be with all

 those we loved.

But this year, we will be together. And it will be a 

true thanksgiving, not just for the things we have 

but for each other.

As we gather around the table, my family, one by one, 

will be sharing the things they are grateful for.

It is for certain no one will take being together to 

 celebrate Thanksgiving.

We want to wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving!

Thankful for our Community of Authors and Readers

By Annette Cole Mastron, Communications Director for Southern Writers Magazine

Southern Writers Magazine says thank you to all our authors and readers! It's because of you the magazine is such a success. 

SWM's blog Suite T is rapidly approaching 2 million views and it's all because of y'all. Thank you!

We love our community of authors and readers who make it fun as we put together each issue. Our editors and staff are constantly working on ways to expand our services to benefit all authors, while creating interest to readers. 

Here's a little writing exercise. Put your thinking cap on and name these "turkeys" that are hanging out on my front porch. Remember, you have to name characters in your writing to make your characters unique. 

Or write a short paragraph of no more than twenty-five words. You will need to write a tight blurb about your book to entice readers to open your book. This writing exercise will help you hone your skills. 
Still stumped? 

Here's mine; the "Turkey" on the left is named "Perky." (Cross between a Pumpkin and a Turkey)....The "Turkey" on the right below is named "Wobble"(he ate too much at dinner) 

My twenty-five words blurb; "Pumpkins hang out on my front porch for All Hallows' Eve tricksters. A few metal attachments extend their time on my porch. Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all."

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

By Annette Cole Mastron, Communications Director for Southern Writers Magazine

Every seven years, or so, Thanksgiving falls "late" in November, just like this year, leaving only three shopping weekends before Christmas. 

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, began on November 27 and ends on Thursday, December 5th. For the first time since 1888, it falls during Thanksgiving and has been called by some, "Thanksgivingukkah." This will not occur again for almost another 78,000 years. Hanukkah, normally is celebrated around the time of Christmas or slightly earlier but usually not this early. 

Because of these dates in 2013, retail folks have been thrown into a panic mode, worried about a lost weekend of sales. I can't remember a time when Christmas holiday sales, ad campaigns, and staged "panic shopping" started before Halloween. Retailers are desperately wanting us to focus on coming to their establishments to shop and buy them out before the turkey is even put in the oven. Let the "Thanksgrabbing" begin? 

Whoa, Nelly the whole reason we have the holiday of Thanksgiving is to allow us to join together, reflect on our bounty, and celebrate with family and friends. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it as a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens," in 1863. 

We really owe Thanksgiving being a holiday to the writer, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, author of the nursery rhyme, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." She began a vigorous and methodical campaign that lasted 17 years to officially establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Previously, it was celebrated only in New England and was largely unknown in the South and West. 

So, thank you author, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale. Although we are writers in very different centuries, I appreciate and will celebrate Thanksgiving due to your steadfast efforts. I will reflect and enjoy the day you envisioned for our nation. Today, with family and friends, we will raise a glass in toast to your brilliant dream for our nation and give thanks for our many blessings and say, "Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!"