Mmmmmm HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Roast Turkey and all the trimmings. Gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. The feast shared in households all over the USA as families get together to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, and eat more than they do on any other day of the year. Celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November, millions of Americans will be eagerly anticipating the beginning of the holiday this very week when it is time to travel home and take a well-deserved break. Although officially just one day, the Thanksgiving holiday typically sees a large majority of the population taking a long weekend. And with Friday off, this allows plenty of time for everyone to continue stuffing their faces with turkey leftovers all throughout the long weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!
Although Thanksgiving has been celebrated in The US on and off since 1789, it was President Abraham Lincoln who made it an official holiday in 1863 when he proclaimed the last Thursday of November to be a day for giving thanks to 'our Father in Heaven'. However, in 1941 Thanksgiving Day was fixed to the fourth Thursday of the month, meaning that, like this year. it is not always the last Thursday.
Many Americans trace the First US Thanksgiving back to 1621 when 53 Pilgrims to America shared a meal with 90 Native Americans during a three-day feast. But while Thanksgiving Day was originally a harvest festival like many others around the world, when people would thank God for a successful harvest, it has grown into what has become for Americans, the start of the holiday season leading up to Christmas and New Year.
Although the Thanksgiving festivities have come to include things like New York City's nationally televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, during which parade floats flow through the streets of Manhattan's Upper West Side, and important NFL American Football matches which have taken place on the day every since the league's creation; it is still a very traditional day on which age-old customs continue to be observed.
People still give thanks before they eat, in the form of a prayer or with each mealtime participant taking turns to explain what they are thankful for before tucking in. And the Thanksgiving meal still always includes turkey. In fact many people even refer to the day as 'Turkey Day'. This is hardly surprising when one considers the numbers of turkeys consumed. On the fourth Thursday of November, 2015 it was estimated that 85% of Americans ate Turkey, which means around 276 million people eating the same meal at the same time. $1.05 billion spent on 45 million Turkeys. That's a lot of turkey.
Many Americans trace the First US Thanksgiving back to 1621 when 53 Pilgrims to America shared a meal with 90 Native Americans during a three-day feast. But while Thanksgiving Day was originally a harvest festival like many others around the world, when people would thank God for a successful harvest, it has grown into what has become for Americans, the start of the holiday season leading up to Christmas and New Year.
Although the Thanksgiving festivities have come to include things like New York City's nationally televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, during which parade floats flow through the streets of Manhattan's Upper West Side, and important NFL American Football matches which have taken place on the day every since the league's creation; it is still a very traditional day on which age-old customs continue to be observed.
People still give thanks before they eat, in the form of a prayer or with each mealtime participant taking turns to explain what they are thankful for before tucking in. And the Thanksgiving meal still always includes turkey. In fact many people even refer to the day as 'Turkey Day'. This is hardly surprising when one considers the numbers of turkeys consumed. On the fourth Thursday of November, 2015 it was estimated that 85% of Americans ate Turkey, which means around 276 million people eating the same meal at the same time. $1.05 billion spent on 45 million Turkeys. That's a lot of turkey.
