Thanksgiving

Turkey pot pie, pumpkin pie and Apple pie

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American celebration which usually happens on the fourth Thursday of November. Throughout history, mankind has celebrated the bountiful harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies (such as the Chinese mid-autumn or mooncake festival).

The story of modern American Thanksgiving is traced back to the Pilgrims, a group of English men and women, originally from Plymouth, who made the famous journey in 1620 on the Mayflower to the New World to escape religious controversies back home. They subsequently founded the first New England colony.

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year, the Pilgrims had a bountiful fall harvest. The Pilgrims had a bountiful fall harvest. The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. A Thanksgiving dinner was held where they sat down to lavish meal that lasted three days with the Native Americans, whose help had been instrumental to their success.

Thanksgiving today is about family feasts and football games. As an American holiday, it’s more important than Christmas to some people as it is the only (non-religious) holiday we share with the entire country. People make great efforts to come home for Thanksgiving.