Thanksgiving Day 2022: why is it called Turkey Day
History of THANKSGIVING DAY?
Thanksgiving day has traditionally been a celebration of the harvest and the year’s blessings. The traditions of sharing a family meal, attending church services, and watching special sporting events are expected on Thanksgiving Day in the United States. A day of Thanksgiving was required to honor God’s exceptional and outstanding favors. For a long time, historians believed that the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621, when the Wampanoag and Mayflower settlers of Massachusetts’ Plymouth Colony sat down for a three-day feast. The dinner, however, wasn’t the profound representation of peace that it subsequently came to be; instead, it was probably simply an ordinary English harvest celebration. As the Civil War dragged on, Thanksgiving gained national attention, and under FDR’s administration, it really became a national holiday.
Thanksgiving in the modern era is a special day for family dinners. As Thanksgiving blossomed into a family reunion holiday, as the nation became increasingly multicultural and families started to live apart, the celebration diverged from its religious beginnings so that incomers from many backgrounds might participate in a single tradition.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a yearly event in New York City that is put on by the American department store company Macy’s, which first performed in 1924. The practice has been carried out annually at New York City’s Macy’s parade, which began using colossal balloons in 1927. The event that Native Americans and Pilgrims first celebrated has come to stand for multicultural harmony, immigrants’ opportunities in America, and the sanctity of family and home.
In large part thanks, parades are held in public settings to mark the holiday, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City, the ABC Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia, the America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago, and the Bayou Classic Thanksgiving Parade in New Orleans. Thanksgiving often marks the start of what is known as the holiday season in America. The Christmas shopping season officially begins on Black Friday, the first day after Thanksgiving. Typically, families gather to eat dinner together on Thanksgiving. A new custom of hosting a separate dinner with friends to commemorate Thanksgiving first appeared in the 2010s, further named Friendsgiving. For a detailed history of Thanksgiving, check out this link: A Presidential History of Thanksgiving.
WHEN IS THANKSGIVING DAY ?
Many countries throughout the world enjoy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States and is observed on the fourth Thursday of November. However, it is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada (Columbus Day in the U.S.). Thanksgiving is always a four-day weekend for Americans, as the day after Thanksgiving is also a holiday and the holiday is often the busiest of the year. At the same time, Thanksgiving is a three-day weekend in Canada. Canadians may meet for their Thanksgiving feast on any day throughout the long weekend, even though the real holiday is on a Monday. Sunday is said to be the most popular day, though.
The other countries that celebrate Thanksgiving in their unique ways are:
Australia, Grenada, Liberia, the Netherlands, Saint Lucia, and the United Kingdom. Like how the day itself varies from place to country, so do the reasons for the celebrations. The harvest celebration that UK people are more familiar with is closely related to the Canadian Thanksgiving. Thus, it seems natural that they would celebrate Thanksgiving in the autumn, often known as “the fall.” Instead of being synonymous with a prosperous harvest, Thanksgiving in the US is explicitly related to the Pilgrims and their arrival in America. Thanksgiving is a festive holiday similar to the harvest festivals celebrated in Britain and continental Europe. Churches are decked with cornucopias, pumpkins, maize, wheat sheaves, and other harvest-related decorations in Canada and the United States too.
HOW TO CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING DAY?
On tables laden with turkey, potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and other goodies, the people of America assemble. They discuss their top best wishes from the previous year during the meal. Sometimes people also spend the day watching a football game or Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Various autumn vegetables, alongside different regional dishes and desserts, may also be served. The most popular Thanksgiving traditions include:
They were giving thanks. People often give thanks for their health and family, as well as the harvest of the previous year. Some people also express appreciation to God for his blessings in their lives. Giving food to those in need is an essential part of this tradition, so many families will donate food or money to local charities during Thanksgiving week.
Many churches hold special services on Thanksgiving Day where families can worship together and share a meal with other congregation members. They exchange cards and gifts for Thanksgiving. They use festive crops from the harvest to adorn their homes, along with decorations for Thanksgiving. Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to celebrating charitable giving, is anticipated to occur five days following Thanksgiving.
Family Dinner on THANKSGIVING DAY:
Families usually gather at home for a traditional turkey dinner that includes all kinds of dishes such as stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans (or peas), cranberries, pumpkin pie, and more! Many families use this time to spend quality time together by playing board games or card games while eating. Other times there are no formal activities planned, just good food and family fun. On Thanksgiving Day alone in 2019, 40 million turkeys were devoured. Americans consume more food on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year due to the magnitude of the meal.
Today, the practice of offering thanks to God is carried out in a variety of ways, most notably through participation in religious services and the recitation of a mealtime prayer before Thanksgiving supper. The weekend before, the day of, or the weekend after Thanksgiving, a lot of places of worship have worship services and other events with a Thanksgiving theme. Many families have a Thanksgiving dinner custom at home that starts with saying grace (a prayer before or after a meal). The “Illustration Family Holding Hands and Praying Before a Thanksgiving Meal” depicts the tradition. At the dinner table, it is customary for each individual to mention one specific reason they are thankful to God that year before going to prayer.
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