Thanksgiving 2017: How This Popular American Holiday Came into Being
While it is a known fact that Thanksgiving Day is a big celebration in America, not so many people are aware of its origins.
Some countries around the world have their respective versions of Thanksgiving Day, but American Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This year, the important American holiday falls on November 23.
Although American Thanksgiving is most known for the sprawling feast on American dining tables, not so many people know how the holiday came into being. However, records claim that American Thanksgiving Day started in 1621, a year after Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, which is just south where Boston is today.
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Unfortunately for the immigrants, their arrival in America coincided with the onset of the harsh winter, hence, food was being rationed, and times were hard. When spring came, as the Pilgrims started planting and growing their own crops, a native American named Squanto helped them and even taught them new things, such as planting corn, pumpkins, and squash, and new skills, such as hunting and fishing.
Because of the new crops that they learned to grow and skills they acquired, the Pilgrims were able to stock up enough food for the coming winters months. Feeling grateful, they invited the Native Americans to join them for a big harvest feast that eventually became known as American Thanksgiving Day.
American Thanksgiving Day is said to have started in 1621. However, it did not become an official American celebration until 1863, the year when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it as a national holiday. However, it was not until the 1900s when American Thanksgiving Day became a popular celebration across America.
Today, American Thanksgiving Day is considered to be one of America's biggest holidays. A typical Thanksgiving Day feast is made up of roast turkey, roasted sweet potato casserole, winter vegetables, and a pumpkin pie with a walnut crust as the traditional meal-capper.
However, American Thanksgiving is not just about a feast sprawling on the dinner table. Apart from grandiose parades on the street, many Americans also look forward to the day that follows it, the so-called Black Friday, which is a time for American shoppers to purchase items at marked down prices.
