Thanks to the Maple by Lewis Henry Morgan

Thanks to the Maple is part of the American Roots series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers. Collect the whole series and display them in your home. These short works also make wonderful gifts.

Thanks to the Maple is from American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan's 1851 work League of the Iroquois. The piece describes in great detail the Iroquois first festival of spring, also called the Maple Dance. This significant annual ritual celebrated the rising of the sap in maple trees, and included speeches, dancing, games, and a great feast. According to Morgan, it was a festive day, "awakening the eagerness of expectation in the minds of all."