By: Prerana Aggarwal

Thanksgiving Day

What is Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgiving Day is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year.

1. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 when the Plymouth colonists enjoyed a feast with the Wampanoag tribe.

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada, it is celebrated on the second Monday of October.

The roots of Thanksgiving in North America are traced back to the early 17th century, when English settlers in America and Canada held autumn harvest feasts and gave thanks for a successful bounty.

1. Popular Thanksgiving traditions involve preparing turkey dinners, watching football games, and parades.

1. Common Thanksgiving foods include turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.

1. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the holiday season leading up to Christmas and New Year’s.

1. Retail stores launch post-Thanksgiving sales and deals that start the season of holiday shopping.

1. Many Americans have a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving since Friday is treated as a vacation day.

1. Thanksgiving inspires people to give back through donations, volunteering, and participating in acts of community service.

Throughout history, days of thanks for harvests and blessings were celebrated in various forms until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the first annual nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in the US in 1863.

The meal has since been commemorated as a symbol of cooperation and peace between English colonists and Native Americans.

people in the US and Canada celebrate Thanksgiving by gathering with family and friends for a hearty feast featuring turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pies

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