What does Thanksgiving Day
celebrate?
Thanksgiving was originally a holiday to give
thanks to God for the harvest. Today it is an opportunity to give thanks for
all the good things God has given us. It is also a day to celebrate family.
When is Thanksgiving celebrated?
In the United States Thanksgiving is observed on
the fourth Thursday in November. In Canada it occurs on the second Monday of
October.
Who celebrates this day?
The day is widely celebrated throughout the
United States and Canada.
What do people do to celebrate?
The day is a national federal holiday in the
United States. Most people have the day off as well as the Friday following,
making a long weekend for travel and holiday.
The way most people celebrate this day is by
getting together with family and having a large meal. Many people travel all
over the country for large family gatherings on this day.
Many cities have large parades on Thanksgiving
Day. Perhaps the largest and most famous parade is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade in New York City. It is widely televised and has been running since
1924. Other cities with big parades on this day include Detroit, Philadelphia,
and Chicago.
Another popular way to spend the day is watching
NFL football. There are generally a number of football games on even though it
is Thursday. The Detroit Lions are a traditional team that plays a game nearly
every Thanksgiving.
Traditional Food
The traditional food for the Thanksgiving meal
includes a turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing,
vegetables, and pumpkin pie.
History of Thanksgiving
The tradition of Thanksgiving started with
the Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts. They first held a celebration
of their harvest in 1621. The feast was organized by Governor William Bradford who also invited the local Wampanoag Indians to join in the meal. The
first time they called the feast "Thanksgiving" was in 1623, after
rain had ended a long drought.
The first national Thanksgiving Day was
proclaimed by President George Washington in 1789. However, it did not become a regular holiday in the United
States until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln declared that the last Thursday in November should be celebrated as
Thanksgiving. Since then it has been celebrated every year in the United
States. The day was made an official federal holiday and moved to the fourth
Thursday of November in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt.
Fun Facts About Thanksgiving
- Each year a live turkey is presented to
the President of the United States who then "pardons" the turkey and
it gets to live out its life on a farm.
- Around 46 million turkeys were eaten in the
US on Thanksgiving in 2010. That's around one fifth of all the turkeys
eaten for the entire year.
- Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird
instead of the bald eagle.
- Around 88 percent of Americans eat turkey
on Thanksgiving.
- The Pilgrims sailed to America from Great
Britain on a ship called the Mayflower.
- The day after Thanksgiving is called Black
Friday. It is the biggest shopping day of the year.