REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY: A DANISH THANKSGIVING
For Thanksgiving, this year our family decided to do something different. We have been learning more about the significance of this day and that it can be more than just our traditional turkey and mashed potatoes, followed by a game of football, playing cards, or building gingerbread houses as it has been for some time in my family.
This year we learned something new! Israel not only came to colonize, but it was a returning to America to reestablish the covenant again on the land. This holiday is a message of that homecoming; a family being reunited after over a thousand years of separation (Nephites and Lamanites)!
MOVIE CHALLENGE
The first thing we did as a family to prepare for this day was to participate in a movie challenge issued. Family members were given a choice of 10 movies to watch that would help us understand history, the bloodline, the cause of Christianity, and what it takes to be a defender of truth. Our favorite movie was Cromwell. There is a part where he walks into the church for Sunday worship and, furious with the king and the idolatry displayed, knocks them off the table. His steadfast hold to principles was inspiring!
Movies
Monumental (Trailer)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUOTHIyXSjg
God’s Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndalhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyvr6dxgglI&t=3s
The Waldensians(Lineage Journey playlist) https://www.youtube.com/playlist…
The Celtic Church (Lineage Journey playlist) https://www.youtube.com/playlist…
Martin Lutherhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8x-mKwfc9k&t=269s
John Wycliffe: The Morningstarhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1V2cFsVUOM&t=2s
John Wesley (Movie on the life of John Wesley, one of the eminent spirits who appeared to Wilford Woodruff in St. George Temple)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u92RR-Rl004
The Radicalshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTX5iWQOuZ4&t=424s
John Hushttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssFJfvHXmaE
Timothy Ballard on the American Covenant (video lecture)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XQ67h7C9-4
Cromwell (trailer)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx27wa0SpN4
OUR HERITAGE
Next, we added a different dinner menu consisting of Danish foods. Brad’s family is from Denmark and immigrated here to America in the 1800’s settling in the Sanpete area where we are living. We decided to use this year’s Thanksgiving to bring in our family heritage through the foods. Twice-baked potatoes, Danish buns, red cabbage, pickled cucumber salad, Danish stuffing, and turkey meatballs (Frikadeller). We decorated the table with old bibles and family heirlooms such as a replica of our ancestor John Howland’s spoon. One bible was 200 years old, another was an old German family bible that had been passed down.
DINNER
For dinner discussion, we had each been assigned to share about a period in history that consisted of Christians (Martin Luther, William Tyndale, Waldensians, Huguenots, Scottish Covenanters, Puritans, Founding Fathers, and Joseph and Hyrum) who stood for God.
ACTIVITIES
Before our dinner, all the men including the 3-year-old went to Exercise their guns. This is a distinctive pilgrim game. There is didactic evidence that the pilgrims got out their guns and went shooting… Here’s the reason this is a pilgrim game:
Edward Winslow wrote, “amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted.”
After dinner, we had a family sing-along of hymns of praise and thanksgiving. We also attempted to play Pilgrim games but the fresh snow put a damper on activities so a “hayride” (a wagon pulled by our riding lawn mower) was the substitute for the day.
We loved the new changes we added to this holiday and the spirit of family that came about from our interactions, especially knowing a little stronger who we really are and our role in this great family mission.
Related Posts
Julie
Julie Smith is the Education Director for the Joseph Smith Foundation. She is the former owner of the Glenn J. Kimber Academy in Lehi, Utah. Julie served as a regional trainer—establishing 18 schools in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. She is a certified teacher for The Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Restoration (TJC) and taught the Making of America seminars written by W. Cleon Skousen and Glenn J. Kimber. Some of her children also traveled across the nation, assisting in teaching during these seminars. Julie taught history and Book of Mormon classes for 10 years. Julie is the mother of 5 children and grandmother to 7. She homeschooled for over 27 years, working through family challenges including pornography addiction, testimony faith crises, and teenage rebellion. She writes and teaches on strengthening the family, working with troubled youth, practically applying the teachings of scripture and the Prophet Joseph Smith, and celebrating higher standards. In her spare time, Julie also enjoys gardening, managing her .5-acre homestead, and hosting Sunday dinners with her family! Her home is a revolving door of guests and friends as her family hosts cultural celebrations and teaching events.
