Some points to understand the origin and what this typically North American holiday is about.
The party of Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving, which is celebrated today, the fourth Thursday of November, It is one of the most important on the American calendar, and although it has not been replicated in the rest of the world, some of its details, such as Black Friday, have already crossed its borders.
What is the origin of Thanksgiving Day?
It is popular belief that their tradition is dates back to 1621, when the first English settlers in North America gathered to celebrate their first harvest and give thanks to God. At that celebration in Plymouth, some Wampanoag Indians appeared who ate and drank with the settlers. But like all founding myths, very few of these things are true, and the party as it is now known dates back to the 19th century.
When is Thanksgiving celebrated?
Thanksgiving was celebrated on different dates in the fall according to the states, and its proclamation as an American national holiday to be celebrated on the last Thursday of each November is due to Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Although the proclamation was made during the Civil War and may have been a failure among the southern rebels, it soon became one of the holidays shared by all Americans.
Is it a religious celebration?
Unlike Christmas, the other great holiday followed in the United States as in the entire world of Christian culture, Thanksgiving Day has a transversal character to all the religions that are practiced in the country. It is celebrated by Christians of all stripes, Jews, Muslims and even secular or atheists. There is no religious ceremony associated with the festival on that day.
Why do families get together on Thanksgiving?
El Thanksgiving It is the time of year par excellence for family reunions: in a country with high labor mobility, This is the date on which the children take airplanes and all kinds of transport to meet their parents and siblings, and the traffic is very intense in the previous days at airports and train or bus stations to spend these four days together, because Friday usually becomes an informal holiday that joins the weekend. Families usually also invite those who for professional or personal reasons are alone, so that they do not spend that important day alone.
Those who do not have a family to go to, gather among friends, in what has been called Friendsgiving.
What do you eat on Thanksgiving?
It is almost obligatory for each family to eat, at the end of the afternoon, a roast turkey, Accompanied by mashed potato, lingonberry sauce and pumpkin pie. All the supermarkets in the country offer turkeys for the occasion, and this year it is estimated that 46 million animals will be killed. In the week before the party, the country’s president “pardons” a turkey he presents in society in a televised event, and the lucky person is “baptized” with a name.
Some politicians of a more populist character give away dozens of turkeys among their voters at this party to ensure their loyalty.
A long day of American football
The (American) football league always schedules a day on Thanksgiving, and it is common for families to sit on the sofa to watch hours and hours of matches in a loop while waiting for the turkey, or even after the meal.
How is Black Friday linked to Thanksgiving?
The day after Thanksgiving is the famous Black Friday, the day when stores announce generous discounts and customers take department stores by storm, although online shopping has tempered that phenomenon. It is, curiously, the only one of the traditions associated with Thanksgiving that has crossed borders to become a worldwide phenomenon.
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
