A Day Of Giving Thanks

November 24th, 2005

in 1720, with the last colony ship landed, the Mlosh have a feast with as many of their human neighbors as will join them, celebrating their landing on a hospitable world with friendly people. Most of the celebrations were recorded, and the recordings became a tool for showing the human race how similar to them the Mlosh were.

in 2617 AUC, a day of thanks to Jupiter is declared throughout the Roman Republic. The festival celebrates the end of fall and the beginning of winter, and had been a folk festival for centuries already.

in 1864, in one of his last official actions, President Walt Whitman declares the last Thursday in November to be a national day of Thanksgiving for the blessings the American nation has received over all others.

in 4561, Emperor Min-Yuan declares this day to be a day of thanks across the Chinese Empire for the successful conclusion of the war against the Siamese and Vietnamese. It is at this celebration that he makes public his intention never to kill his own people again.

in 12-12-9-13-18, Emperor Quitchehuan opens the last of the Festivals of Huitzilopochtle by personally sacrificing an Apache caught in a Feather War. During the sacrifice, Quitchehuan had a great vision of the sun disappearing from the sky should the festivals continue, and he forbade them during the remainder of his reign. When the Empire remained strong in spite of Huitzilopochtle’s blessing, the festivals were never reinstated.

in the Dreaming, the great Spider returned with a web that connected the lost people with the people of the land. The people were so overjoyed at being united that they gathered together all of the food they could, and made great music to the heavens, and to the spider for his searching, and to each other to show their love for their kindred.

in 1864, Pope Victoria declares a Day of Giving Thanks throughout the Holy British Empire. God had spoken to her and told her to lift up from the mourning she had gone into at her consort Albert’s death. From that day on, she devoted herself to spreading of the Holy British Church.

in 1890, General Beauregard T. Jackson, having been invited to the homes of several families in Salt Lake City, ends up spending his Thanksgiving at the home of a young enlisted man, Stephen Tims. In the warmth of the Tims family home, General Jackson knows that peace has finally come to Utah.

in 2002, having rescued Professor Thomas and Captain Trent Laughlin from the alien cocoons, the crew of the stolen space craft have a small party. They even invite the aliens that they inadvertently rescued along with Thomas and Laughlin, who accept the offer, although they are confused by the humans themselves.

in 2004, Chelsea Perkins celebrates her first Thanksgiving with her father at the Great Tree. With Alma May Watson and the nymph of the tree in attendance, it is a small but lively gathering, and Miss Perkins feels, for the first time, that everything will be all right. She gives her very sincere thanks for the gift of her ancestry.

Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!