ThanksGiving Day - 26th November 2020
- Thread starter Deepak Kiran
- Start date
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia, and the sub-national entities Leiden, Norfolk Island, and the inhabited territories of the United States. It began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and Brazil, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is sometimes called American Thanksgiving (outside the United States) to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name. It originated as a harvest festival, and to this day the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remains Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is regarded as being the beginning of the fall–winter holiday season, along with Christmas and the New Year, in American culture.
The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621. This feast lasted three days, and—as recounted by attendee Edward Winslow was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating "thanksgivings," days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought
History of Thanksgiving Day
The annual feast is in honour of the “first” Thanksgivings in America, in 1619 in Virginia, and in 1621, when colonists in Plymouth, Massachusetts, later known as the Pilgrims, shared a meal with the Wampanoag Indians, who were native to the land.
The later feast was in honour of the help the Pilgrims received from the Native Americans in cultivating crops and surviving their first harsh winter and it lasted three days.
Later, US Presidents including George Washington, John Adams and James Madison called for days of thanks throughout their presidencies.
However, it was not until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day would be held each November to be celebrated by the country.
How is Thanksgiving Day celebrated?
Thanksgiving takes place each year on the fourth Thursday of November.
Although Thanksgiving may originally have had religious significance, the day has become a mostly secular holiday.
Most Americans consider the holiday a day to gather and express their thanks through food, family, and football – with multiple NFL teams playing on the holiday.
During some Thanksgiving celebrations, people write down what they are thankful for and then read aloud from the pieces of paper.
The day is also celebrated with the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
The world’s largest Thanksgiving parade includes giant balloons of cartoons that float above the city sky, as well as marching bands and dancers.
Other places that celebrate the holiday
Thanksgiving is one of the most important cultural holidays in America, however, Canada also has its own Thanksgiving Day, on the second Monday in October, and Liberia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first Thursday of November.
Following Thanksgiving, the month-long shopping for the winter holidays begins, with Black Friday kicking off the season.
Food festival for the Americans
In America, turkeys are an integral part of Thanksgiving Day, with most dinners including the bird.
Americans also indulge in Thanksgiving favourites such as yams topped with marshmallows, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cornbread, and pumpkin pie.
The annual feast is in honour of the “first” Thanksgivings in America, in 1619 in Virginia, and in 1621, when colonists in Plymouth, Massachusetts, later known as the Pilgrims, shared a meal with the Wampanoag Indians, who were native to the land.
The later feast was in honour of the help the Pilgrims received from the Native Americans in cultivating crops and surviving their first harsh winter and it lasted three days.
Later, US Presidents including George Washington, John Adams and James Madison called for days of thanks throughout their presidencies.
However, it was not until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day would be held each November to be celebrated by the country.
How is Thanksgiving Day celebrated?
Thanksgiving takes place each year on the fourth Thursday of November.
Although Thanksgiving may originally have had religious significance, the day has become a mostly secular holiday.
Most Americans consider the holiday a day to gather and express their thanks through food, family, and football – with multiple NFL teams playing on the holiday.
During some Thanksgiving celebrations, people write down what they are thankful for and then read aloud from the pieces of paper.
The day is also celebrated with the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
The world’s largest Thanksgiving parade includes giant balloons of cartoons that float above the city sky, as well as marching bands and dancers.
Other places that celebrate the holiday
Thanksgiving is one of the most important cultural holidays in America, however, Canada also has its own Thanksgiving Day, on the second Monday in October, and Liberia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first Thursday of November.
Following Thanksgiving, the month-long shopping for the winter holidays begins, with Black Friday kicking off the season.
Food festival for the Americans
In America, turkeys are an integral part of Thanksgiving Day, with most dinners including the bird.
Americans also indulge in Thanksgiving favourites such as yams topped with marshmallows, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cornbread, and pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving, which occurs on the fourth Thursday in November, is based on the colonial Pilgrims' 1621 harvest meal. The holiday continues to be a day for Americans to gather for a day of feasting, football and family.
Why is it called Thanksgiving?
Blessing of the harvest. It began as a day where people took the opportunity of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.
In the US, the celebration is often recognised as an event that took place when English colonists held a feast to thank Native Americans for helping them start new lives in the US.
“The First Thanksgiving” was celebrated after their first harvest in October 1621. The feast lasted three days.
Why is it called Thanksgiving?
Blessing of the harvest. It began as a day where people took the opportunity of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.
In the US, the celebration is often recognised as an event that took place when English colonists held a feast to thank Native Americans for helping them start new lives in the US.
“The First Thanksgiving” was celebrated after their first harvest in October 1621. The feast lasted three days.