Gratitude Campaign - Pass this on
Have you ever wanted to say "thank you", but didn't? Next time, say it...
If you love the freedom we all so easily take for granted, please take one minute out of your busy day, and view this video.
http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/sign.php
I am hoping this catches on around the country.
The sign we are using is intended to communicate
"thank you from the bottom of my heart. "
To make the sign simply place your hand on your heart
as though you're saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Then
pull your hand down and out, bending at the elbow
(not the wrist), stopping for a moment at about the belly button with
your hand flat, palm up, angled toward the person you're thanking.
According
to Norman Heimgartner, Ed.D., author of “Behavioral Traits of Deaf
Children” and former Professor of Education at the University of Puget
Sound, this sign originated in France in the late 1700’s, and was
published in “Theorie des Signes”, a dictionary of signs by the Abbe
Sicard. The sign was brought to the United States in 1816 by the
Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of Gallaudet University, who
later modified it to start at the chin rather than at the heart. That
sign is now the standard sign for “thank you” in American Sign
Language. The original sign, starting at the heart, is less commonly
known today and might now be considered “slang”. More information
on American Sign Language