Thanksgiving, blessings of gratitude

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><B>BLESSINGS OF GRATITUDE</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>       <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>                “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”</I></FONT> 2 Cor.9:16.</div> <bR> <div>      Many people, especially foreigners in the Philippines, wonder why Filipinos celebrate American holidays such as Independence Day on July 4 and Thanksgiving Day every 4th Thursday in November. Perhaps a little background on the history of the Philippines would be necessary. </div> <div>      The explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines for Spain in 1521. Magellan was unfortunately killed in a battle by a local chieftain named Lapulapu in the island of Mactan near Cebu. The first spanish settlement was established in Cebu in 1565 while the Philippines was later named for the future King Philip II of Spain.</div> <div>      The Philippines was a colony of Spain for over 350 years. The Spanish brought some benefit of European civilization, but Filipinos were denied freedom, economic opportunity and many other civil rights. Spain ruled the Philippines by the `cross and the sword' until the end of the 19th century (1898). Long persecution of the Filipinos lead to a full-scale revolt producing heroes like Dr. Jose P. Rizal who was executed by firing squad in Bagumbayan, now Luneta or Rizal Park on December 30, 1896. Rizal's two books the Noli Me Tangere and El Felibusterismo incited the Filipinos to further rise against Spain tyranny.</div> <div>      On May 1, 1898, a week after the Spanish-American war begun, Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. Four months later the Spanish surrendered and the Philippines was ceded to the Americans in the Treaty of Paris in 1898. </div> <div>      Armed conflict between the ill-equipped Filipinos and the Americans ensued, the Filipinos having proclaimed independence from Spain in June 12, 1898 had to defend this independence. The war between the Filipinos and the Americans did not last very long, General Emelio Aguinaldo surrendered in Luzon while General Martin Delgado who head the Filipino forces in Visayas and Mindanao likewise surrendered to the Americans. The Americans made General Delgado the first Governor of Iloilo in 1901. The Americans ruled the Philippines as a colony, while Filipinos prepare for self-rule.</div> <div>      In 1935, the Philippine Commonwealth was declared under President Manuel L. Quezon. The Commonwealth was to administer the Philippines for 10 years in transition to Philippine independence, but WWII delayed this. </div> <div>      The Japanese attack the Philippine island on December 8, 1941, and in May 1942, Filipinos and American troops surrendered while General Douglas MacArthur was able to escape to Australia. President Quezon and some of his cabinet also escaped and the government -in-exile was established in Washington D.C. When President Quezon died in Sarawak Lake, New York in 1944, Sergio Osmena became President of the Commonwealth.</div> <div>      US President Harry Truman approved the use of two Atomic Bomb in the cities of Heroshima and Nagasaki in Japan thus helping end the Pacific War in September 2, 1945.</div> <div>      The Philippines was granted independence by the <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>“Heaven Watch the Philippines keep  her safe from harm. Guard her sons and her precious ones in the city and in the farm.  Friendly with America, let her always be Heaven Watch the Philippines and keep her forever free” </I></FONT></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>