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Good and Plenty
Since it is Thanksgiving, I feel pretty much obligated to write something related to the holiday, but it can be hard to come up with ideas. I could always say what I'm thankful for, but that's a bit trite, isn't it? So what is Thanksgiving actually about? Sure, it's about feeling grateful, and about how English pilgrims couldn't have survived without the help of the Native Americans, whom they eventually killed off through war and disease. But more than that, it's a harvest festival, and such occasions are known throughout the world. It's actually a bit late in the year when compared to other harvest celebrations, but George Washington sometimes declared days of thanksgiving in December. It was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday and set it in November. Regardless, seeing as how it's intended to honor the harvest, we can perhaps say that the people who insist on calling it "Turkey Day" are actually right in a way, because it's about food. Many holidays are, really.
One item that tends to be associated with Thanksgiving in this country is the cornucopia, or horn of plenty. This is actually a quite old symbol, which Wikipedia informs us dates back at least as far as the fifth century BC. Back then, it was commonly associated with Amalthea, the goat who suckled Zeus in his childhood. The Romans would later depict it as a property of Fortuna, the goddess of...well, I think you can figure that out from her name. Christians also use it, although some evangelicals think horns are of the Devil.
The cornucopia probably appears in some fairy tales, but I can't think of any examples offhand. I do remember a story about a magic grinder that could produce any food, and ended up filling the entire ocean with salt. Tales involving objects that can produce unlimited amounts of something often extol the dangers of not giving them specific instructions. Two of my favorite fantasy series definitely used cornucopias in particular. In Ruth Plumly Thompson's Handy Mandy in Oz, one of Nox the Ox's golden horns produces whatever the person turning and removing it asks for. The term "cornucopia" isn't used, but the literal translation "horn of plenty" is. And in Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, Tiffany Aching receives a cornucopia. If I remember correctly, it would obey instructions, but only if given in Ephebian (the Discworld equivalent of Greek).
One item that tends to be associated with Thanksgiving in this country is the cornucopia, or horn of plenty. This is actually a quite old symbol, which Wikipedia informs us dates back at least as far as the fifth century BC. Back then, it was commonly associated with Amalthea, the goat who suckled Zeus in his childhood. The Romans would later depict it as a property of Fortuna, the goddess of...well, I think you can figure that out from her name. Christians also use it, although some evangelicals think horns are of the Devil.
The cornucopia probably appears in some fairy tales, but I can't think of any examples offhand. I do remember a story about a magic grinder that could produce any food, and ended up filling the entire ocean with salt. Tales involving objects that can produce unlimited amounts of something often extol the dangers of not giving them specific instructions. Two of my favorite fantasy series definitely used cornucopias in particular. In Ruth Plumly Thompson's Handy Mandy in Oz, one of Nox the Ox's golden horns produces whatever the person turning and removing it asks for. The term "cornucopia" isn't used, but the literal translation "horn of plenty" is. And in Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, Tiffany Aching receives a cornucopia. If I remember correctly, it would obey instructions, but only if given in Ephebian (the Discworld equivalent of Greek).