Thanksgiving Day In the United States

Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated nationally in the United States since 1789. Thanksgiving is undeniably the most entertaining festival among Americans who consider it as an opportunity to get together with the family members and celebrate the fall harvest. From American president pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey to the family dinner, the festival intends to promote the idea of ”giving thanks”.

The Historical Perspective

Usually, when the topic of Thanksgiving origin is raised, there are several historical accounts to trace the origin of the festival. However, officially, the day is referred to as the celebrations by British pilgrims who arrived in Plymouth Massachusetts in December 1620. According to history,  half of them died due to the unexpected and merciless weather conditions and the inability to care for the crops. Luckily, as the Red Indians provided them with assistance to grow the crops and survive the cold winter, the remaining pilgrims survived. When the summer of 1621 arrived, the pilgrims harvested the crops which were enough for the entire year. Thus, in order to celebrate the remarkable event, a three-day harvest festival was organized which became a national celebration with the efforts of Congress during the era of George Washington.

What’s the Best Way to Spend the National Holiday?

In case you are in a mood to host your friends, family members and the relatives on the special dinner, you need to plan up each and everything prior to the event. Get Turkey a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving Day as it would cost you much cheaper than it would be on a special day. Furthermore, don’t forget to include the desert or other sweet recipes in your things-to-serve the list.

Watching or Even Joining the Parade

The day starts with unnumbered parades throughout the country with Macy’s parade in New York City being the largest and most-watched one. Every year millions of people watch the parade on television and many join the participants to double up the fun. The parade is probably the best part of Thanksgiving as you get a chance to witness art-filled objects and the participants in so many different costumes representing various characters being moved by decorated vehicles.

In rare cases, It is when you may find the fake versions of the comic characters from Captain America to Iron Man making appearances and bringing a smile to the faces of the children. Apart from participants, many people take it too far by donning the redesigned versions of caps costume such as the Chris Evans Captain America Leather Jacket to voice the most patriotic American character. The Thanksgiving parade is a full dose of the entertainment allowing you to see so many weird creatures floating in the air including flying dragons, sharks and cartoon characters.

If you are more of a political mindset, you should be knowing American president pardons Turkey on Thanksgiving day. It all started when Horace Vose gifted first-ever Turkey to the then-president in 18702 and continued it until his death in 1921. We know, this marked the beginning of a tradition which later allowed every American citizen the right to gift Turkey to the president. But thanks to mister Ronald Reagan who became the first head of the United States to pardon Thanksgiving turkey.

To be specific, watching the official ceremony of the honorable president pardoning Turkey at the White House is probably not a bad idea. Apart from the mentioned way, you can plan up the celebrations the way you want according to your age group! The significance of Thanksgiving Day among Americans can be understood by the fact that people from all walks of life including the secretaries of the state celebrate the day with peace and harmony while skipping the work or the daily routine to participate in the centuries-old festival.