The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a feast of thanks in the early days of the American colonies.

It originated from a mix of European and Native American traditions that celebrated communal harmony and a bountiful harvest. Both the Separatists and the Puritans brought with them a tradition of providential holidays: days of fasting during difficult or pivotal moments and days of indulgence and celebration to thank God in times of plenty.

Native Americans had a rich tradition of commemorating the fall harvest with feasting and games centuries before their arrival.

George Washington formally recognized the holiday in 1789. At the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November.

It was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt's plan was unsuccessful. In 1941 he signed a bill declaring it the fourth Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving is a festival that spans cultures, continents and millennia. Its roots can be traced to the ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian civilizations. The Greeks honored Demeter, the goddess of grains during Thesmophria.

The Roman festival of Cerelia honored Ceres, the goddess of Corn Egyptians honored the god of vegetation and fertility, Min The ancient Chinese celebrated "Chung Ch'ui", a three-day harvest festival.

Continuing today, cultures celebrate thanks for a plentiful harvest. Although these are observed with different names, customs, and traditions they all have the common theme of gratitude.

Read the rest of this article here >>

Learn more about cultures and holidays here:

• www.familyculture.com
• www.thanksgiving-day.org
• www.pongalfestival.org
• www.quotegarden.com/thanksgiving.html

A special thank you to Ethnic Technologies LLC and Multicultural Marketing Resources for permission to republish this article.

Image - "Thanksgiving at the Trolls" by Martha_Chapa95 via Flickr

Monterey, Calif., Nov. 15, 2011 - Language Line Services, the global leader in interpreting and language solutions, announced today it is launching a secure, on-demand web-based interpreter training records portal for its healthcare customers to help them meet new and revised regulatory requirements of The Joint Commission standards for language interpreter proof of competency.

The new Joint Commission standards for language access move out of the pilot phase and begin impacting accreditation decisions on January 1, 2012.

"In order to have their facilities accredited, hospitals require these records to provide to The Joint Commission during surveys to verify the quality of a hospital's language access program. Gone are the days where organizations try to bypass this critical requirement with band-aid solutions," said Jonathan Hirsch, Director of Guest Services at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, N.J.

Read the rest of this news release here >>

This new feature for "In Other Words" is a selection of "tweets" this month from Language Line Services.

Are you on Twitter? Follow us here and here. Thanks!

• THIS is America: - Pakistani immigrants rescue Brooklyn's oldest bialy/bagel shop, vow to keep kosher kitchen too. http://bit.ly/uCOgc9


• Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Speakers Push Multicultural Marketing for contributing to: as Key to Growth. It's amazing to hear C-level executives say that... http://t.co/0Oyh7beH


• Sixteen nations challenge South Carolina's immigration law http://bit.ly/v7Vsn0 Homeland Security News Wire


• PR Lost In Translation: Consumers in U.S. Don't Just Speak English - Or Spanish By Louis F. Provenzano, Jr... http://t.co/Z8fNK70r


• RIP Andy Rooney - We loved your cranky humor in whatever language we speak. Today you're in our hearts - http://t.co/ml9XaTfA


• Translating a lucrative & sometimes scary job... "in Afghanistan, 77 of firm's translators killed, 335 wounded" http://bit.ly/tsqI2E


• Police: Language not a barrier... "One afternoon earlier this month, 2 women were trying to break into... " http://bit.ly/syiAWo

If you enjoyed these, follow us at @LanguageLine and @LouisProvenzano

"Addressing the Linguistic & Cultural Needs for Florida's Diverse Patient Population"

Language Line Services' Language Access Center for Excellence together with...

• The Moffitt Cancer Center,
• The Office of Minority Health, Florida Department of Health,
• The Florida Hospital Association, and
• The International Medical Interpreter Association (IMIA)

...are pleased to present a free full-day healthcare educational program with CEU's available.

Join your peers for this symposium that addresses the requirements of The Joint Commission and how Florida hospitals can ensure effective communication for its growing diverse patient population.

Subject matter experts will discuss:

• New and revised patient-centered communication standards
• New revisions of the CLAS standards
• Language access compliance, legal perspectives and risk management strategies
• A physician's account on best practices in caring for limited English proficient patients in a hospital setting and in home visits
• Florida's Office of Minority Health on their work within the state on delivering culturally competent care
• The IMIA will share how one hospital has successfully incorporated technology into their language access program

Additional presentations will be made on the importance of working with qualified interpreters, emerging trends, and what hospitals need to know when implementing an organizational language access program

This educational program is open to all healthcare providers, compliance officers and hospital leadership.

There is no fee for attending, however space is limited so early registration is encouraged.

Take a moment right now and register here >>

And, please indicate if you have any special needs such as dietary restrictions or American Sign Language for example.

Hope to see you there!

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages, as well as offering a wide variety of corporate openings.

Over-the-phone, Certified Medical Spanish Interpreters (CMI) to work from home in the U.S. Must have passed the National Medical Interpreter Certification Exam or be CMI certified through Language Line Services.

We are very actively seeking two experienced on-site interpreters in Contra Costa County, California. One in Punjabi, the other in Farsi. Formal training/certification preferred.

We are also seeking professionals in California capable of performing dual-roles of over-the-phone as well as on-site interpreting.

As for work-at-home, over-the-phone interpreters, we have openings, especially in Spanish, and in a number of other languages. Please visit the "Careers" section of our website for current interpreter openings.

And, finally, top Corporate opportunities, all in Monterey, CA include:

• Database Administrator-MS SQL Server
• Payroll Specialist
• Tax Manager
• Sales Associate
• Payroll Specialist

For non-interpreter positions, please apply at: www.languageline.com/careers. Click on "Apply Today" under "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions to add your profile.

EEO/AA Employer.

* Some positions may have been filled by the time you apply. However, new positions open up every week.

Visit our Career Center here >>

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