It’s Turkey Season!
It’s that time of the year again! As the end of the year approaches, people around the world are gearing up to celebrate Thanksgiving. For all of you who don’t know what Thanksgiving is, you’ve come to the perfect place. Here’s an article that covers a little something about this time-honored tradition that is celebrated before Christmas every year.
So what exactly is Thanksgiving?
Mainly celebrated in countries like the US and Canada, it is observed on the fourth Thursday of November in the US, and the second Monday of October in Canada. In this celebration, families come together to celebrate the harvest and give thanks to all the blessings of the past year.
Origin
Every tradition has to begin somewhere and knowing the origins of it is equally as important as celebrating it. So here’s a little peek into the history behind Thanksgiving.
In September 1620, a ship named the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers. After a long and dreadful journey that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor at the mouth of the Hudson River near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination. The Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay a month later, where the Pilgrims, as they are now called, started the work of setting up a village at Plymouth. The weather conditions were brutal, resulting in the death of half the passengers onboard. When they finally reached the shore, they were greeted by Native Americans, one of them named Squanto, who then taught them how to cultivate corn, catch fish, avoid poisonous plants, and extract sap from maple trees. In November 1621, the Pilgrims got their first successful corn harvest and held a celebratory festival that lasted 3 days, inviting all their Native American allies.
Current Traditions
Of course, the traditions, including the food has changed over the course of the years. It is no longer a 3 day celebration and has evolved to become more centred on the idea of giving thanks to the blessings of the past year and an occasion for family members to come together rather than as a harvest festival.
Churches hold a Thanksgiving day service centered on giving thanks to God, families cook up a storm of traditional Thanksgiving food that includes a full roast turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, jellied cranberry sauce, cornbread, rolls, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, butternut squash, spiced apples, an assortment of pies -from apple to pumpkin pies, and the list goes on. Drooling yet?
Here’s a picture to make your mouth water even more!
Of course, the real star of the meal is the roast turkey. The Thanksgiving day is is associated with the turkey so much so that it is often referred to as ‘Turkey Day’. In fact, the turkey has become so symbolic of thanksgiving that in the US, there’s even a tradition of ‘pardoning the turkey’. No, your eyes did not fail you…you read that right! In this tradition, the President of the United States ‘pardons’ a turkey selected from the National Turkey Federation, thereby sparing the turkey’s life. This ceremony is said to have dated back to the 1940s, but became a tradition during George H.W Bush’s term.
Here’s a hilarious video of one such ceremony performed by former President Barack Obama.
Another tradition is for family members to pull on a turkey wishbone. The person with the larger part gets their wish granted. It is also common for families to go around the table and express what each member is grateful for. Some families also take part in charitable work, serving food in soup kitchens and homeless shelters.
No celebration is complete without a parade! New York holds one of the largest parades called the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which is also the second oldest thanksgiving parade, closely followed by Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia and America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit.
Overall, Thanksgiving is a great way of bringing families together and reminding people of all the things they have that they should be thankful for, which they otherwise might take for granted. It is a wonderful way for people to recognize their privilege and understand the need to help others who may not be as fortunate. So let’s all be grateful for the things that we have and we wish you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!
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