American Samoa has much to be thankful for this year especially following the Sept. 29 tsunami that claimed 34 lives in the territory. Families of the tsunami victims as well as many survivors are expected to be remembered tomorrow when American Samoa joins the rest of the United States in celebrating Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday.

George Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, and Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition during the Civil War.

President Barack Obama in his Thanksgiving message released Monday by the White House said, “Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed ‘by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God,’ and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war.”

“As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings,” said the President.

“As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our Nation throughout the year. In doing so, we pay tribute to our country’s men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all,” Obama continued.

“I encourage all the people of the United States to come together... with gratitude for all we have received in the past year; to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own; and to share our bounty with others,” he said.

(As of press time, the governor’s office had not released an official Thanksgiving message.)

Gov. Togiola Tulafono earlier this week declared only Thursday Nov. 26 as Thanksgiving holiday in the territory, which means ASG offices and agencies will be closed for one day and resume operations on Friday.

The majority of local businesses will be closed tomorrow and re-open Friday, including all federal offices plus the U.S. Post Office, and the two private banks— Bank of Hawaii and ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank.

No confirmation yesterday from StarKist Samoa if they will work on Thanksgiving. Several companies are giving out turkeys to employees.

As part of the Thanksgiving celebration, a number of organizations are putting together community events today, tomorrow and Friday, such as the annual Leone High School Turkey Run which started at 5 a.m. today.

Beginning at 7 p.m. today, in the Holy Family Hall at Fatuoaiga,  the Fine Arts Department of the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) will hold a benefit concert to raise funds for tsunami relief. The concert is titled: “A Special Music Festival: In Loving Memory of the Tsunami Victims”.

Yesterday, local stores reached by telephone said they are prepared for Thanksgiving shopping and expect today will be a busy day for them.

“Oh, yes, we have lots of turkeys available for any last minute shopper, but there were also a lot of advance turkey purchases as well as advance orders for taro and palusami,” said one store owner in Tafuna.

Other retailers said they expected Friday to be busy with shopping and are looking forward to it.

Local residents are reminded that police patrols will increase to ensure safety is maintained in American Samoa. Restaurants have also set up special Thanksgiving meals.

Remember also, the Thanksgiving Day is not complete without the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City but there was no confirmation yesterday from any of the local TV and cable stations if they will carry this event live.

Thanksgiving officially kicks off the holiday and shopping season. The Friday after Thanksgiving Day is called “Black Friday” and begins at Thursday, midnight.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, Samoa News will not publish tomorrow but will return on Friday.

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY AMERICAN SAMOA!