THE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING DAY CELEBRATION

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year. It is a day for people to give thanks for what they have and to spend time with family and friends. The holiday has its roots in the early 17th century, when the Pilgrims held a feast to thank the Wampanoag people for helping them survive their first winter in the New World. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated with a large turkey dinner, American football, parades, and volunteering. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner features roasted turkey stuffed with bread, onions, celery, and parsley as the main course, as well as mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet corn, cranberry sauce, various fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie.

Many people also volunteer to serve Thanksgiving dinners to the poor who cannot afford to have a feast of their own. Football is the second tradition during Thanksgiving celebrations, as there are always National Football League games on this special day. Moreover, as Thanksgiving was founded as a religious observance to give thanks to God, some people also attend religious services. Worship services are offered either the day of or the weekend after or before Thanksgiving. Before dinner, many families say a mealtime prayer. Furthermore, there are parades in many cities that you can attend, one of the best-known ones being Macy’s nationally televised Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan, New York, featuring parade floats, balloons, and marching bands. The parade is always wrapped up by the year’s first appearance of Santa Claus, heralding the beginning of the Christmas season.