Giving Thanks

endpage.jpg photo by Ira Cohen (caption - This 10-foot, inflatable turkey on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Bayside is a reminder of the Pilgrims who came to these shores in search of religious freedom.)

As you sit down to celebrate Thankgiving with a mammoth dinner and prepare for the holidays ahead, we are reminded of the Pilgrims who first landed at Plymouth Rock in search of religious freedom. Today, religious freedom abounds and there is no better example than the borough of Queens. Our borough is home to the Bowne House, where the first statement of religious freedom was made as a pre-cursor to the Bill of Rights in 1658.

Queens is the most diverse county in the world and as a result is home to a plethora of religious faiths. As the holidays approach we are bombarded with images of Christmas, Chanukah and Kwan-zaa. But there are many other religions celebrating holidays in the month of December in Queens as well, including Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Islam.

So as the New Year approaches, remember to be thankful not only for the food your eating but for the daily freedom you enjoy. And especially be thankful and remember the many Queens soldiers fighting to maintain that freedom and security oversees.

Let your New Year’s wish this time around be for all of them to return home to Queens safely