This is the third Thanksgiving my family and I spent in Malta and we celebrated this special day with some of our Maltese friends. My children were busy sorting through their toys and selecting the ones they would like to give as a gift to children who are less fortunate. My husband Matt and I were busy sorting through our family recipes to come up with this year’s Thanksgiving menu which will appeal to our three children and their friends. Preparations start a good two weeks before and it’s a great, heartwarming season for us Americans which we enjoy sharing with new friends when we are overseas. It is also our family tradition to reach out to others. Last year, we visited refugee families living in Malta and spent some time with them. This year we visited a children’s home and my kids shared some of their toys with the boys and girls who live in the home.

The tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving started in Plymouth when a group of settlers landed in the area after an arduous journey from England. Plymouth is in the State of Massachusetts and was the site of the first European settlement in New England, founded on 21 December 1620. The journey, on board the famous ship Mayflower lasted 65 days before the pilgrims sighted land at Cape Cod. The pilgrims who reached America on the Mayflower became known as the Pilgrim Fathers. After a rough winter, in which about half of them died, the settlers turned for help to neighbouring Indians, who helped them to plant corn and other crops. The pilgrims worked the land and the next autumn’s bountiful harvest inspired the pilgrims to give thanks by holding a feast.

In 1988, a Thanksgiving night ceremony of a different kind took place at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City. Among the more than four thousand people gathered there were Native Americans representing tribes from all over the country and descendants of the later immigrants. The ceremony acknowledged publicly the Native American role in the first American Thanksgiving, a feast held to thank the Indians for sharing their knowledge and skill without which the first pilgrims would not have survived. The Thanksgiving feast has became a national tradition, not only because so many other Americans, including Maltese-Americans, throughout the ages, have found prosperity but also because the pilgrims’ sacrifices still captivate our imagination. To this day, Thanksgiving dinner almost always includes some of the foods served at the first feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Before the meal begins, families and friends pause to give thanks for their blessings, including the joy of being united for the occasion. We have so much to be thankful for.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Many Americans take a day of vacation on the following Friday to make a four-day weekend so they can travel long distances to spend the holiday with family and friends. It is a tradition among American families to invite neighbours, who might not have family or friends, to their Thanksgiving Dinner. No one should be alone on Thanksgiving.

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There are many recipes associated with Thanksgiving dinner but here is one which may be enjoyed by everyone all year round

Pumpkin Cake Roll

3 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Filling

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

6 ounces cream cheese

4 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Method

Beat eggs for 5 minutes.

Gradually beat in sugar, pumpkin and lemon juice. In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread in a greased pan.

Top with walnuts. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes.

Turn cake out onto a towel and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and roll as a roly-poly. Leave it to cool.

In the meantime, prepare the filling, beating all ingredients until creamy. Unroll the cake, spread the filling and re-roll. Chill until serving time. Enjoy!

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Another great success!

On Saturday 17 November, children had a whale of a time when McDonald’s organised a day full of activities in all its restaurants. The aim was to raise funds for the McDonald’s Eden Children’s Fund on the occasion of World’s Children Day.

I attended the event that was held at the MIA restaurant in Luqa. In sharp contrast with the gloomy and depressing weather, the restaurant was bustling with activity. Everyone was excited and wanted to do the most of this event, while also raising as much funds as possible. I was greeted with a hot cup of coffee and delicious chocolate cake, which was very much appreciated on such a wintry morning. Face painting, magic shows and free pony rides were very much in demand throughout the day.

At one point, a sudden commotion added to the already bustling atmosphere… the Zoo team had arrived! Those present – young and old – were enthusiastic to meet these “mischievous” characters, as they were struggling to give a helping hand (!!) by serving customers with their orders! Other personalities were also invited during the day to support this event and children enjoyed themselves meeting with the cast of Nannu Spagu as well as the cast of Mini Bugz. Furthermore, Ronald McDonald together with Sunny, the mascot of The Eden Foundation, was going round all the restaurants and gave various shows throughout the day.

World Children’s Day at McDonald’s is a worldwide fundraiser aimed to collect money for numerous children’s charities and causes. McDonald’s calls on businesses, customers, celebrities and personalities to join hands and truly make this day a special event. World Children’s Day is part of the McDonald’s culture of giving back to the communities in which the firm operates. The proceeds will be deposited into the McDonald’s Eden Children’s Fund which was set up for the first World Children’s Day which was held in 2002.

This year’s event helped to raise Lm8,900.52 (EUR20,732.63) which will go towards finalising different projects for The Eden Foundation. This Foundation is a non-government organisation that works in partnership with people with developmental disabilities to enable them to achieve full inclusion to the best of their abilities by gaining access to mainstream education, employment and leisure activities, leading to an independent life.

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IOI-Kids News: Ocean Currents

Did you know that ocean water is constantly moving? Our oceans and seas are actually joined together to form one large body of water, which moves all the time both at the surface in the form of waves and underneath as currents.

Ocean currents are like large rivers flowing through the oceans. They flow for thousands of kilometres from one place to another. So what creates these currents? Currents are formed mainly because of the differences in the water’s temperature and salinity (salt content), and the force of the wind blowing at the surface and dragging the water along.

There are two types of ocean currents. Surface currents are found in the top 400 metres of the water mass and form 10 per cent of all ocean water, while deep ocean currents are found at greater depth and form the remaining 90 per cent of ocean water. Also, while surface currents move mainly because of the wind blowing at the surface, bottom currents move because of density (that is the temperature and salinity) of the water. These bottom currents form when the temperature of the surface water decreases, causing the water to become heavier and sink to the bottom.

Deep ocean currents are a bit like a huge global “conveyor belt” which is set in motion when deep water forms in the North Atlantic, sinks, moves south, and circulates around Antarctica. It then moves northward to the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This round-the-world trip can take up to a thousand years!!

The movement of both surface and bottom currents also affects our climate and the living conditions of all animals and plants, even those found on land. One of the most well known currents is called the Gulf Stream. This flows by northwest Europe and its warm temperature keeps the climate in this part of the world warmer than other areas, which are found at the same latitude.