What is Thanksgiving? A look at the US holiday and why Americans celebrate it

Americans at home and around the world are tucking into their turkey dinners today to celebrate Thanksgiving. The annual holiday takes place on the fourth Thursday of November.

Outside of the US, Thanksgiving is rarely celebrated. As American media pivots to Thanksgiving-themed content, here’s a quick Euronews Culture explainer on the special day.

The national holiday in the US originates from a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims and Puritans that had immigrated to the US from England in the early 17th century. According to legend, the holiday is also intrinsically linked to Native Americans, who taught settlers how to grow corn and catch fish.

The account of the first US Thanksgiving revolves around a meal that the Native American Wampanoag people helped prepare for newly arrived Pilgrims who had run out of resources in 1621.

This has long been a source of tension, due to the treatment of Native Americans historically by European colonists. In fact, Thanksgiving is known as the National Day of Mourning for many Native American communities.

For many, Thanksgiving is also a season of charity. Americans are encouraged to give what they can to organisations like the Salvation Army and provide food for the homeless.

A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of roast Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato with marshmallows, cranberry sauce, gravy, sweetcorn and pumpkin pie for dessert.

Since the 1920’s Thanksgiving has traditionally been the start of the Winter holiday season. It is also generally regarded as more important than Christmas, particularly in terms of spending time with family and friends.

Here are some of the major ways Americans like to celebrate Thanksgiving:

Parades

One major feature of Thanksgiving is the parades. In New York, the Macy’s Parade sees floats, balloons and oversized cartoon characters go down 6th Avenue. It ends at Macy’s flagship store and is televised nationally each year.

This year’s parade is the 100th anniversary of the Macy’s tradition. As in 1924, there will be plenty of marching bands and lots of clowns, followed by the grand finale of Santa Claus riding through Manhattan and ushering in the holiday season.

This year's parade features 17 giant, helium-filled character balloons, 22 floats, 15 novelty and heritage inflatables, 11 marching bands, 700 clowns, 10 performance groups, award-winning singers and actors, and the WNBA champion New York Liberty.

Black Friday

While not strictly held on Thanksgiving itself, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. Huge discounts are on offer, resulting in riot-like scenes as shoppers rush to grab the best deals.

Thanks in part to global American retailers like Amazon, Black Friday has become a worldwide event and many Europeans will be trying to get the best deals ahead of the Christmas season.

Sporting events

Several sporting events are also held over the holiday period. In the NFL, games are played throughout the day on Thursday and across the weekend. In addition, there are also a number of big college football matches.

Television specials

Thanksgiving TV Specials are another important cultural event. While not as big as Christmas, the big television production companies go to great lengths to boost viewing figures.

Turkey pardoning

And finally, the President ‘pardons’ two Turkeys at the White House each year, making sure they live happily ever after. Between 1873 and 1913, Rhode Island farmer Horace Vose sent a turkey to the White House. From this, a tradition grew. Turkey gifts to the president became a standard feature of the holiday.

Everything became official in 1947 when President Harry S. Truman started the turkey presentation ceremony. The first time a turkey was “pardoned” though was when John F Kennedy suggested not eating his gifted bird three days before his assassination in 1963.

The act was called a pardon by the press and the tradition was enshrined by Ronald Reagan and made official by George H. W. Bush made it part of the ceremony. The turkeys are then sent off to live on farms while during 2005 to 2009, some were allowed to walk in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.