A century ago, the popular writer O. Henry wrote: "There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." Others have noted the genius of a holiday that involves a sort of symbolic, national "communion"--with individuals, families, and friends sitting down to a common meal at a shared moment.

This Common Feast, a project of the South Atlantic Humanities Center, looks through the window provided by Thanksgiving, to see how the holiday can help us understand who we are as a people.

How did the shared cultural possession that is Thanksgiving first begin? How have presidents proclaimed it over time? When and why did football, parades, and hunting come to be part of how we celebrate it? What has the role of religion been? What have Native Americans had to do with it, and how do they view it today?

These are just some of the many questions the historical, cultural, literary, and other sources on this Web site (which is in the early stages of construction) can help answer.

And, just as importantly, recorded interviews and other documenting of people's Thanskgiving experiences will be built into a future exhibit on what Thanksgiving means to us today.