To address the issue of how the individual’s memory becomeslinked with that of the collectivity, Halbwachs explains that ‘‘Whilethe collective memory endures and draws strength from its base in acoherent body of people, it is individuals as group members whoremember.’’11 People are located within different groups such asfamilies, nations, associations and social classes. Individuals areable to remember and recreate the past by drawing on these specificgroup contexts, which is also what makes memories concrete andmeaningful. Thus, as Halbwachs explains, ‘‘Every collective memoryrequires the support of a group delimited in space and time.

as well as theimportance of the present for explaining the past.

Looking at the historical development of Thanksgiving Day, arguethat a social constructionist perspective can offer significant insightinto how the holiday evolved. I begin with an examination of othertheories on collective memory and then explain how the meaningand collective memory of Thanksgiving Day emerged

Today's wouldbe much the same. Choquette climbed out of the cage. Bynoon, the rock was almost underwater

Meanwhile, the lower half of the rock remained at thewaterfront, and actually served as a part of the surface of acommercial wharf, with iron-tired carts rolling over it filledwith fish or lobsters, timber, coal

f so, the lower half was the Tory half, for it stayedbehind, while the upper part was moved from the harborsideto Liberty Pole Squar

Rountree con-siders Powhatan's response to the arrival of the strangers in his land, andexplains the extent to which he relied on the advice of local religiousleaders to determine the intentions of the English

hose the name Rebeccafor Pocahontas with the hope that, like the biblical Rebecca, the newconvert would favor her white children (like Jacob, whose skin waslight) over her "red" children (referring to Esau, who was characterizedas red).