AMERICAN FAITH: Thanksgiving was fondly observed in...

AMERICAN FAITH: Thanksgiving was fondly observed in the Bronx by little Harold Schulweis, now rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino--not least because turkey is kosher and the holiday is nondenominational. To him, “Thanksgiving is America at its finest” because it “symbolizes the dream of a society that avoids the entanglement of the state in the affairs of religion or the imposition of a particular religion.”

RARE SERVICES: Few churches hold Thanksgiving Day services, except for Christian Science--perhaps a pilgrim influence on the Boston-based denomination, a spokesman said. Gratitude is the theme of services at 12 local churches from Glendale to Woodland Hills to Santa Clarita, including the 11 a.m. service at the large 37th Church of Christ, Scientist, in Studio City.

FOOD PANTRY: It’s a Valley success story. Since 1983, more than 260,300 people have been given two-day emergency food supplies at the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry, where Roy Presley totes bread, above. Ten congregations support the program, storing food at Temple Beth Hillel and distributing it Mondays and Fridays at First Christian Church. About 300 are expected at the group’s annual Thanksgiving Eve interfaith service, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village.

‘TIS THE SEASON: Tinsel, stars and tree decorations arrived in stores weeks ago, but the original Christmas season--Advent--doesn’t officially begin until Sunday, often the occasion for special music programs. This year, Christmas Day itself falls on a Sunday.

ALREADY HANUKKAH: This Sunday evening marks the earliest start this century of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, notes Rabbi Gary E. Johnson of Agoura Hill’s Temple Beth Haverim. Although the eight-day holiday doesn’t compete directly this year with Christmas, the rabbi urged members of his 350-family synagogue to display a Hanukkah menorah in front windows to announce their dedication to Judaism in a secular world.