| Why Do We Eat Pumpkin Pie at Thanksgiving? How did pumpkin pie become so irrevocably tied with the Thanksgiving holiday? That has everything to do with Sarah Josepha Hale, a New Hampshire-born writer and editor who is often called the "Godmother of Thanksgiving." In her 1827 abolitionist novel Northwood, Hale described a Thanksgiving meal complete with "fried chicken floating in gravy," broiled ham, wheat bread, cranberry sauce, and-of course-pumpkin pie. For more than 30 years, Hale advocated for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday, writing regular editorials and sending letters to five American presidents. Thanksgiving was a symbol for unity in an increasingly divided country, she argued [PDF]. Abraham Lincoln eventually declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. Southern governors reluctantly complied with the presidential proclamation, but cooks in the South developed their own unique regional traditions. In the South, sweet potato pie quickly became more popular than New England's pumpkin pie (mostly because sweet potatoes were easier to come by than pumpkins). Now, pumpkin pie reigns supreme as the most popular holiday pie across most of the United States, although the Northeast prefers apple and the South is split between apple and pecan, another Southern staple. Gobble up these titles |
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| Books on the Air An overview of talked-about books and authors. This weekly update, published every Friday, provides descriptions of recent TV and radio appearances by authors and their recently released books. See the hot titles from the media this week. |
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| Lisa Jewell Lisa was born in London in 1968. She was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls' Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication. She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph's Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year. She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh. She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly. Check out her titles here. |
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| 2019 National Book Award Winners More than 1,700 books began with a chance at winning a National Book Award. Now, after a ceremony Wednesday night in Manhattan, the folks behind just five of those books have each emerged with a trophy, a purse of $10,000 and the right to add the precious gold medallion on the front cover of their work. Check them out here |
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| As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. [Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1963]-John F. Kennedy
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