7 notable Thanksgiving traditions: Pardoning a turkey, church services and ‘Friendsgiving’

3. Church services

While millions of Americans may associate Thanksgiving with big meals, football games and watching parades, for many, the federal holiday is a day to go to church.

Churches holding worship services on Thanksgiving Day goes back to its origins in New England, with Puritans often having services in the morning before beginning evening's festivities.

According to a 2015 piece in Religion Dispatches, as Thanksgiving became a more mainstream observance, the practice of holding church services on the holiday declined.

Nevertheless, in modern times, many churches still schedule services on the holiday, with a notable example being the Washington National Cathedral.

“This is not new for us,” Cathedral spokesperson Kevin Eckstrom told The Christian Post in an interview last year. “We have been holding a worship service on Thanksgiving Day for as long as anyone can remember.”

“We all have something to be grateful for, and if we can focus on the gifts of God and the things in our lives that we can be thankful for, maybe — just maybe — that can pull us all a little closer together. There is much more that unites us than divides us, and the ability to give thanks is one of those things.”