Wisconsin is a big cranberry growing state, but even so, I never thought much about how they grow, how they're harvested, and where they're processed. I just know they make tasty side dishes, jellied cranberries being my favorite! With the help of happynutritionist's lens Cranberry Sauce - From Bog to Table , I've been educated!

"Cranberry Sauce" is a visual tour of the life of cranberries in Maine, from the bogs where they're grown to the pot where they're boiled. You'll find photos of an antique cranberry sorter, which is still in use today, and a great video recipe for homemade cranberry sauce. Cranberries are a traditional side dish for Thanksgiving, and now you can show the kids where they come from.

This lens benefits Soldiers' Angels, and they'll be receiving a $1000 award. Cranberries and charity: both so good for you!

http://www.squidoo.com/homemade-healthy-cranberry-sauce

What? No pie on Thanksgiving? That's alright, lensmaster jkvkdailey is making it up to us with a bounty of other desserts!

Anti-Pie Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes is a delicious collection of non-pie desserts perfect for the Thanksgiving season, including tarts, trifles, and everyone's favorite - cheesecake! No need to wait until Thanksgiving.  You can make these desserts any time of the year.

Congratulations to CAER Food Shelf, who will be receiving $1000. Isn't giving sweet?

http://www.squidoo.com/no-pie-thanksgiving-desserts

Usually known as a US holiday, we often forget that a version of Thanksgiving is celebrated in Canada too! In Thanksgiving The Day in Canada, A Children's Book Review, lensmaster Treasures-By-Brenda reminds us how Thanksgiving works in Canada.

Did you know:
- they celebrate Thanksgiving the second Monday in October?
- they use similar decorations of gourds, cornucopias, and harvest themes?
- they watch football on Thanksgiving too?

Not only is this lens a great example of our cultural similarities, it has also won $1000 for the Diabetes Research Institute. Yay, Canada!

http://www.squidoo.com/thanksgiving-the

Today's lens of the day has a winning trifecta:

A story. All great lenses tell stories. This one is the legend of the Five Kernels of Corn.

A lensmaster who has really made a name for herself for her generosity and charitable leadership on Squidoo.

And it's a winner in our Thanksgiving Cookoff for Charity, which means it has won $1000 for KIVA.

And that's what we call a job well done.

http://www.squidoo.com/five-kernels-corn

When we think of Thanksgiving we think of dinner. Turkey, cranberries, potatoes. But shouldn't a day of thanks and food include a hearty breakfast too?

That's exactly why stargazer00 decided to share her recipe for Cheese Salsa Crustless Quiche.

"This quiche recipe is very adaptable and forgiving. You can substitute any cheese that you have. If you don't like picante sauce, use white sauce or something else. Vegetables are a nice addition if you have them leftover. Quiche is economical as well as delicious!"

The best thing about this meal? You can make it the night before! With an oven full of turkey, no one has room for an extra pan. Something tells me that it's even tastier on day two, after the salsa has had time to meld.

This quick and simple breakfast lens has earned Soldiers' Angels a $1000 donation. Congrats! And with only five ingredients, even I can make Thanksgiving breakfast special.

http://www.squidoo.com/cheese-salsa-crustless-quiche

Today we launched the Official Squidoo Thanksgiving Cookoff (for Charity) to help us give away $1000 to charity every day through Thanksgiving, with a $5000 grand prize vote-off at the end of the month.

To enter and raise money (for free) for your favorite charity on our list, just make a foody lens. Great apple pie recipes, best locally grown squashes, tried and true baking secrets, best coffeemaker recommendations, your family's Thanksgiving menu -- anything and everything food or kitchen, it all goes. Make it really great, and set your earnings to donate 100% of the lens proceeds to one of our partner charities.

That's exactly what lensmaster HorseandPony did with her lens, the very first winner in our Cookoff and perfect for a chilly Monday morning in November: Pumpkin Spice Coffee for Your Thanksgiving Holiday. Or as she calls it, "The liquid version of pumpkin pie." In a cup.

The lens organizes her favorite hard-to-find pumpkin coffees and shows you right where to order them online, in plenty of time before your holiday houseguests show up.

Thanks to her, we're donating $1000 for Operation Gratitude, the nonprofit she's chosen to support with this lens.

It's that simple. Real people raising money for charity, just by making free lenses about the stuff they love most.

I wonder who tomorrow's winner will be. We'll be watching for your lens!

It's November! We know what that means. Raking leaves, football in the backyard, and the smell of fresh apple pie. That's right. Thanksgiving is near.

To celebrate the season and help give thanks to deserving charities, we're hosting a contest. It's the Official Squidoo Thanksgiving Cookoff for Charity.

The rules are simple. Go here to start a food-related lens. Make it really great, and set your earnings to donate 100% of the lens proceeds to a charity of your choice. Every day through Thanksgiving, we'll pick one great lens, and donate $1000 to the charity that lens supports. We'll even make it LOTD. There's no limit on how many awesome food related lenses you can make. On Thanksgiving, we'll pick five great lenses and donate $1000 to each of those charities. It's the easiest way we know to put $1000 back into our communities.

If you're a Squidoo Partner Charity, you're already eligible to win. Just go out and have your volunteers create lots of great lenses on your behalf. If you're not already a charity with us, learn how to join. (For the purposes of this contest, we'll even waive the lens requirement for one month. Just send us your Official Name, PayPal address, logo, very short blurb, and we'll get you hooked up. More info here.)

Over the years we've given away well over $100,000, and now we're giving away $30,000 more. Ahhh. Giving never smelled so delicious.

http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-thanksgiving-cookoff

If you're anything like me, you know what Halloween is all about. Trick-or-treating and costumes and gore. Right?

But how did it all come to be? Why IS a bat so freaky? Why aren't other scary figures like the Boogie Man associated with Halloween? Monarch13 explores this in her lens 7 Scary Symbols of Halloween.

"Jack-O-Lantern literally means "Jack of the Lantern" and an Irish legend tells of a man named Jack, who could not enter heaven or hell and was doomed to wander aimlessly each night, with only a candle, in a hollowed out turnip to guide him. To keep him away, local villagers would carve scary faces into turnips and place them in their windows. Irish immigrants in the United States began using commonly available pumpkins rather then turnips, and the practice continues to this day. Thus the flickering flames from the Jack-O-Lantern eventually became associated with the spirits of the dead."

Who woulda thunk! Visit the lens to learn why bats and witches and black cats are the symbols of Halloween, plus more.

I'll never "turnip" my nose at pumpkin carving again. Happy Halloween!

http://www.squidoo.com/halloween-symbols

Every weekday (or nearly that) Squidoo's Editor in Chief, Megan Casey, highlights a lens that stands out from the crowd, a lens that is unique in topic, approach, personality, tools or timing. Or, you know, just a lens that made her guffaw a little.

If you find a lens you'd like to submit for LotD consideration, send it to us here.

Looking for some help and advice on your own lenses? Swing by SquidU, where tons of smart lensmasters hang out.