Today we explore American Thanksgiving by asking the question: Why was the ship named the Mayflower?
It is very simple: I hadn't realized that this is another name for Hawthorn blossoms (Crataegus monogyna). I had one of these in the Toronto garden with beautiful pink blossoms, followed by edible fruit that attracted migrating birds in the Fall. While mine was not long-lived, the oldest one is in France and goes back to the 3rd century. The oldest in Britain is 700 years old. The hawthorn is associated with Faerie in Ireland, and is 'not disturbed' by those who believe in the danger fairies traditionally represent.
American Thanksgiving is a holiday of far more significance in the U.S. than it is in Canada and Commonwealth countries. We don't have a 'trip to the promised land' as the motivation for our celebration. The Pilgrims and Puritans referred to themselves as God's New Israel who would build a spiritual Jerusalem in America.
The journey across the Atlantic was horrible - imagine what it felt like with swells of over 100 feet. The arrival was November 19 1620. And here we are 400 years later.
I have only a few ship images. Here we are looking across the lake in November 2015 to Toronto, with the skyline very prominent. I take the Welland Canal for granted when I drive over the bridge to go to the garden centre greenhouses. It is the reason we see big ships in Lake Ontario.
