Over The River
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Do you consider the song "Over The River and Through The Woods" to be a Thanksgiving or Christmas song? Here's a little history about the song...
"Over the River and Through the Wood" is a Thanksgiving song by Lydia Maria Child. Written originally as a poem, it appeared in her Flowers for Children, Volume 2, in 1844. The original title of the poem is, "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day". It celebrates her childhood memories of visiting her Grandfather's House. Lydia Maria Child was a novelist, journalist, teacher, and wrote extensively about the need to eliminate slavery.
It is sometimes presented with lines about Christmas, rather than Thanksgiving. For instance, the line "Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!" becomes "Hurrah for Christmas Day!". As a Christmas song, it has been recorded as "A Merry Christmas at Grandmother's". Although the modern Thanksgiving holiday is not normally associated with snow, New England in the early 19th century was enduring the Little Ice Age, a colder era with earlier winters.[1]
If you are interested in reading more about Lydia Maria Child you can visit the Poetry Foundations website.
Here is a Christmas version of the song to enjoy at home!
