Thanksgiving? All Americans?

Question

We don't have it in England, just wondered what day it falls on, whats it all about?
We here so much about it on TV and in films.

November 24th to us is Christmas Eve and we do have family or friends meal together.

Answer 1

Always a Thursday. I it's the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S. and second Monday in October in Canada. Lincoln is the president that first made this a national holiday.

When I was a kid, that and Christmas was the only time we ever had turkey and that's what's usually associated at the traditional meat. But, people sometimes fix capons, baking hens, ham or roasts. Usually, there's lots of pies, dressing and puddings, but not the type of pudding you'd think of in England.

Now, it's another excuse to eat and drink to excess and leave a big mess for grandma to clean up, meet relatives you haven't seen all year long and would rather not have to visit with, have to break up a fight or two with the kids, and in some homes, the men sit around watching football as they dinner digests and the wives wish they'd go home.

You can find more about it here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

Answer 2

It is a traditional American holiday that falls on the 4th Thursday of November to celebrate the bringing in of the harvest and to "give thanks" for it it. Now days it is pretty commercial and, yes, an excuse to stuff yourself as well as a turkey. It also is a day where it used to be ONLY the Detroit Lions (and it always used to be the green Bay Packers) played an National Football league game but now the Lions have a game and the dreaded Dallas Cowboys have one,too.
and they play different teams each year but never each other.

Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving in a similar way but theirs is in October I believe. Heck, maybe they even thought of it first but I don't think so.

Anyway, it is a time to get together with family and friends. The day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday" and is the busiest shopping day of the holiday season. It is called Black Friday because most businesses go into the black that day which helps them make a profit for the season.

Answer 3

I am a Canadian and in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving on the 2nd Monday in October every year.

the Americans have theirs on the 4th Thursday of November.

Here is how Thanksgiving came about:

It is based on the New England puritan Thanksgiving, which is a religious Thanksgiving, and the traditional harvest celebrations of England and New England and maybe other ideas like commemorating the pilgrims. All of these have been gathered together and transformed into something different from the original parts.

- James W. Baker, Senior Historian at Plimoth Plantation

The first feast wasn't repeated, so it wasn't the beginning of a tradition. In fact, the colonists didn't even call the day Thanksgiving. To them, a thanksgiving was a religious holiday in which they would go to church and thank God for a specific event, such as the winning of a battle. On such a religious day, the types of recreational activities that the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians participated in during the 1621 harvest feast--dancing, singing secular songs, playing games--wouldn't have been allowed. The feast was a secular celebration, so it never would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims minds.

Myth: The original Thanksgiving feast took place on the fourth Thursday of November.

Fact: The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was three days long. The event was based on English harvest festivals, which traditionally occurred around the 29th of September. After that first harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonists, Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer, shared by all the colonists and neighboring Indians. In 1623 a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of thanksgiving because the rain came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed in New England of annually celebrating thanksgiving after the harvest.

During the American Revolution a yearly day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and by the middle of the 19th century many other states had done the same. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November, which he may have correlated it with the November 21, 1621, anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod. Since then, each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941).

I guess you could now say - you've had a history lesson today.
Hope you found it interesting and will pass it on to your friends in England.

Answer 4

It falls on different dates, but the day is always Thursday. I am guessing that you know the reason behind Thanksgiving, you can get that from a book. Usually it is a time to get together with family and friends and we eat. Football is a big part of the day too. The men usually end up watching a game and the women prepare the meal and then clean it up (at least that is how it works at my house.)

Answer 5

Thanksgiving is the 22nd this year it is always the 4th Thursday of Nov... it was set up to remember the first harvest in this country.....the holiday is a time to gather with family and friends and give thanks for all we have..all we have been through......It is usually centered around a big dinner of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy...breads vegetables, and many deserts...with phone calls from those that could not make it... and visits from all who can ....thanksgiving is a celebration of family and life...and being grateful.
Thanksgiving usually begins the long holiday season that extends into Christmas and new years....

Answer 6

Thanksgiving is always the 4th Thursday in November. This year it falls on the 22nd. The reason I say 4th is because some years there are five as 2007 does.
It's a day to give thanks for all we have and hopefully for all good things to come.
The Pilgrims started it back when they came to America in the 1600's... somewhere between 1609 and 1620.
It's been awhile since I was in school but that date stands out.

Answer 7

The reason it is celebrated in the United States is because it is here that the pilgrims came over on the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts and met the native American Indians for the first time. They all sat down to the first Thanksgiving dinner. It always falls on the 4th Thursday in November and is a time to give thanks for the food, the friendships, our families, what we have in life and what is yet to come. I think all countries could have a day of Thanks for everything the Lord has given them or for their families.

Answer 8

Oh give me a break England doesn't have Christmas on November 24t! Christmas Eve is December 24th.. Christmas is December 25th!!
Thanksgiving is celebrating our freedom, our new land, freedom of religion and no more King George :-)

Answer 9

this year Thanksgiving it going to be on November 22nd, it's aways the 4th Thursday in the month =)

Thanksgiving for me and my family goes like this: we wake up like a normal day, eat breakfast and my mom starts cooking the turkey early so it's ready for dinner later. We'll decorate a little (put out some candles, maybe a table cloth) and start making the rest of the food...my dad and sister will be watching football haha and I'm usually upstairs or helping my mom out with the food...we'll set the table (with the nice china) and eat around 3-4 =)

Answer 10

We simply celebrate God's bounty, remembering the foundation of the USA, when the pilgrims and indians learned from each other in order to survive and began to fellowship. Thanksgiving will be celebrated this year on Thursday, November 22.