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Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to
get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey,
stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables.
Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they
have.
Thanksgiving Day parades are held in some cities and towns on or
around Thanksgiving Day. Some parades or festivities also mark the
opening of the Christmas shopping season. Some people have a four-day
weekend so it is a popular time for trips and to visit family and
friends.
Most government offices, businesses, schools and other organizations
are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Many offices and businesses allow staff
to have a four-day weekend so these offices and businesses are also
closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Public transit systems do not usually operate on their regular timetables. Thanksgiving Day it is one of the busiest periods for travel in the
USA. This can cause congestion and overcrowding. Seasonal parades and
busy football games can cause disruption to local traffic.
Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States
since 1863. Not everyone sees Thanksgiving Day as a cause for
celebration. Each year since 1970, a group of Native Americans and their
supporters have staged a protest for a National Day of Mourning at
Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day. American Indian Heritage Day is also observed at this time of the year.
There are claims that the first Thanksgiving Day was held in the city
of El Paso, Texas in 1598. Another early event was held in 1619 in the
Virginia Colony. Many people trace the origins of the modern
Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration that the Pilgrims held in
Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. However, their first true thanksgiving
was in 1623, when they gave thanks for rain that ended a drought. These
early thanksgivings took the form of a special church service, rather
than a feast.
In the second half of the 1600s, thanksgivings after the harvest
became more common and started to become annual events. However, it was
celebrated on different days in different communities and in some places
there were more than one thanksgiving each year. George Washington, the
first president of the United States, proclaimed the first national
Thanksgiving Day in 1789.
