Thanksgiving In The USA
by Kelly Sallaway - LincsMag Writer.
Date: 19 November 2010
Food, Football and Family
Thanksgiving is a truly American Holiday created by the earliest Americans and celebrated every year by just about everyone in the Country. Not celebrated as a secular event the day transcends religions and incorporates acts of gratitude, feasts, Fall festivals, traditional foods and celebrations.
The origins of the holiday started in England and were created at their American namesake locations of Plymouth and Boston.
The settlers who traveled from England to Holland and then on to America seeking religious freedoms created the celebration and their core motivation helped create American History and shape our culture. These Pilgrims are part of our ancestry and helped shape our laws and values.
Each Thanksgiving we celebrate the pioneering spirit that brought these settlers to the rocky shores of New England. We celebrate their fortitude and their willingness to sacrifice for their beliefs and like them, remind ourselves to be thankful. Thankful to be living in a place of founded on allowing individual freedoms.
In 1620 the Pilgrims who traveled on the Mayflower survived a particularly arduous voyage, extremely harsh conditions through their first year. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less that 50 survived the first winter. It was recorded that upon their first successful harvest they choose to mark the occasion with a feast of thanks.
The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. The ideal and the feast is an integral part of our Thanksgiving Holiday. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln made it all official by appointed a national day of thanksgiving.
It's all about the food
Thanksgiving across the United States is usually marked by a creating huge family meal. Traditional meals are Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy . There are usually sweet potatoes, corn and all kinds of side dishes of Autumn vegetables and fresh baked bread rolls. The desserts are plentiful and they almost always include pie.
Pumpkin pie is the number one choice and the traditional Thanksgiving dessert. There are variations of these meals but the norm is turkey and this is based on idea that the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving meal was wild turkey provided by the local natives.
Let's talk turkey
According to the turkey industry 91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving . An estimated 45 million are consumed at Thanksgiving, an average of 675 million pounds of turkey!
Typically we spend 2-3 days prior to the day in cooking and preparation. It's a sit down meal with all the immediate family, many times with 15-20 people at the table. The average size bird served is over 15 pounds.
Touchdown Fever
So what do we do after all that food? Watch football. American that is, and not the kind actually played with the feet. Thanksgiving day is traditionally a day of American Football with back-to back games on all day and evening across the country and airwaves. While we are washing up the dishes American football is playing. Thanksgiving Day has always been associated with Football and includes High School, College and Professional games.
Hundreds of thousands of fans will attend games but they won't skip their big meal- just rearrange the schedule or turn their Turkey Day meal into a "tailgate' party.
Attitude of Gratitude
Thanksgiving is marked by football and food but it truly marks a time for us to be thankful. Because Thanksgiving it is not about a particular Religion or political party, American seem to all take it to heart and treat it with some thought. The prelude to a Thanksgiving meal is a prayer of thanks. Whether or not we pray to a particular Deity, we still take time for a moment to be thankful for all we have.
We live a life of amazing abundance in our Country, we know it and on thanksgiving we all acknowledge it. Collectively as a country we believe we are lucky or blessed and it is important to be aware, and be thankful.
Here comes Santa Claus
Thanksgiving is a time for family celebration and here it also denotes the official start of the Holiday season. We mark the occasion with events like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with massive balloon creatures and floats through the New York City streets.
That iconic parade and many smaller ones, parties and events across the country all culminate with the most special parade entry, Santa in his sleigh.
Santa Claus ushers in the Christmas season and signifies the kick off the Christmas shopping and celebration.
