Thanksgiving Day in the USA: the history of the holiday and when it is celebrated

In the United States, there has been a tradition for many centuries: on a certain day, Americans meet with the whole family at a festive table, eat a baked turkey and read thanksgiving prayers. And more recently, giant inflatable dolls to music began to walk along the streets of cities. All this happens on Thanksgiving Day.

What is Thanksgiving Day

The holiday, known as Thanksgiving Day, has been an official state celebration in the United States for over a century. Its essence lies in gratitude and gratitude to the Lord that he gave a rich harvest. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, anticipating the start of the winter festivities season. Government agencies and many private companies are closed on this day. For employees of organizations, they arrange a weekend for several days so that they can go on a holiday to their relatives and friends.

Where did the tradition of celebration come from?

The history of the origin of Thanksgiving in America goes back to in the 17th century, and he is associated with the English settlers. Those in 1620 fled England due to religious differences and went to the lands of the New World in the hope of establishing colonies. After a 2-month voyage on a ship called "Mayflower", they reached their cherished goal. However, the land greeted them unfriendly. For the first few months, the migrants found it difficult to adapt to the conditions. Many simply could not bear it physically and died from disease, hunger and cold.

Local aborigines - Indians - came to the aid of the Europeans. They taught them how to adapt to weather conditions, grow crops, find food and sources of drinking water. For the first time in the fall, having gathered a rich harvest, the settlers thanked God for the gifts. On this occasion, a holiday was arranged, during which the settlers shared a meal with the Indians. We celebrated this event for several days. Later, the religious significance of Thanksgiving was lost; it was sometimes celebrated when there was a good year.

Important! According to other versions, gratitude was given not to the Indians who helped the colonists settle in new lands, and even to the unharvested crop. Recognition went to the pioneers who gave birth to the new American nation, despite all the difficulties they encountered on the way.

What number is celebrated

Thanksgiving became an official public holiday. in 1777that was announced by the Continental Congress. A few years later, the first American President J. Washington set a date for its celebration - November 26.

This holiday finally became a national event only under Abraham Lincoln, immediately after the end of the civil war in the country. He also decided that the event should be celebrated on the last autumn Thursday. True, in subsequent years, under the rule of other statesmen, this date was constantly changing. After confusion over the timing of the celebration and public complaints, the final date for Thanksgiving in the United States was set - the last Thursday in November. It remains so to this day.

Traditions

Over the centuries-old history, the holiday has acquired its own traditions, which the American people respect and are trying to follow them:

• Thanksgiving is usually celebrated at the home of the oldest member of the family. Relatives from all over the country come there to see each other, dine at the festive table with traditional treats.
• The established menu of this celebration includes baked turkey with sour cranberry sauce, sweet potato dishes, turkey juice gravy, cornbread, aromatic pumpkin pie, hot apple cider flavored with spices.
• It is also customary to decorate the house. The design is based on bouquets with chrysanthemums, leaves and berries. In general, everything that is identified with a golden autumn and a rich harvest.
• Before eating festive dishes, it is necessary to say a prayer of thanks for a fertile harvest and for the opportunity to gather close people together.

Turkey pardon ritual

Another of the traditional ceremonial rituals was the so-called "pardoning a turkey". This tradition first appeared in 1947, when local farmers began to give a live bird for the President's festive table. In 1963, US President John F. Kennedy refused to cook the bird and released it.

Note! The official pardon ceremony began in 1989: the head of state, George W. Bush, gave the turkey donated to him on the farm. Since then, the White House has followed this tradition every year.

Interesting Thanksgiving Facts

And here are some interesting facts related to this celebration, about which, perhaps, few people know:

• Canada, like the United States of America, also celebrates Thanksgiving Day. However, the Canadian holiday is celebrated on the second Monday in October. This is due to the country's colder climate, where harvesting takes place earlier than their neighbors.
• If a person does not have a family, and he has nowhere to go to celebrate this day, then various charitable organizations invite him to a thank-you dinner.
• There is a tradition according to which on this day the president of the country himself distributes a festive dinner to the poor.
• The first decade of Thanksgiving celebrated no turkey. The meal of the settlers and Indians was the meat of seals, swans, geese or lobsters.
• Macy's first parade passed in 1924.

Thanksgiving Movies

On this grateful day, people often watch films that tell about family values ​​and blood ties. As a rule, such pictures are positive and joyful, kind and happy. To some extent, they are permeated with a miracle. Films about the family holiday itself are also preferred.

List of Suitable Movies for Thanksgiving:

• "By plane, by train, by car" (1987);
• "The Smell of a Woman" (1992);
• The Values ​​of the Adams Family (1993);
• Home for the Holidays (1995);
• Ice Wind (1997);
• April Holiday (2003);
• "New World" (2005);
• Thanksgiving (2010)
• "Adolescence" (2014).

Entertainment on this day

Thanksgiving Day is filled with different entertainments that will lift your spirits and allow you to escape from the daily hustle and bustle

Macy's parade

For almost a hundred years now, processions of giant inflatable figures - characters from cartoons, comics, fairy tales - have been passing through the streets of large cities, decorated platforms ride, orchestras sound and groups of people dance. One of the famous processions is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, organized by the Macy’s chain of famous department stores.

The parade is a symbol of the upcoming Christmas holidays and celebrations. During it, a solemn procession with balloons follows from Central Park to the entrance to the department store. Broadcast of the parade between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, since 1952 is also conducted on huge screens located on the streets of the city.

Soccer game

On this day, matches of the National Football League are held, gathering a large number of fans in the stadiums and behind the screens. For the first time, the competition began to be held in 1869, and since then all amateur teams have been going to play the ball.

Shopping

Lately, many shops have decided not to close for Thanksgiving. And every year there are more and more of them. This time opens the season for upcoming big discounts.

Important! The day after the celebrations comes "Black Friday" - the time when stores delight with big sales for their goods.

For several hundred years, Thanksgiving Day in the United States has been gathering family and friends around one festive table. And it reminds of how settlers and Indians existed together and shared the same meal with each other.