Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. Precedes Black Friday.
What makes people?
Thanksgiving is traditionally the day for families and friends, who gather in front of a table laden with succulent dishes. The meal often includes a turkey stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and vegetables. And’ an important time when people gives thanks to God for what he has. On this day are also organized several parades are held in all cities and countries. Some parades or celebrations also mark the opening of the season Christmas shopping. Some have a four-day weekend,so it is an important time for travel and to visit family and friends.
Public life
Most government offices, companies, schools and other organizations are closed on this day. Many offices and businesses allow staff to have a weekend of four-day (making the bridge) so that they can be free on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, be able to organize and go to visit families far. The public transport systems usually do not work with regular hours. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest periods for travel in USA. This can cause traffic and overcrowding.
Historical background
This historical tradition, originally derived religious but now considered secular, dates back to 1621. When the harvest was carried out in November 1623 William Bradford, Governor of the colony founded by the Pilgrims, a Plymouth, Massachusetts, issued orders:
" All you Pellegrini, with your wives and your little ones, Gather together the House of Assemblies, on the hill… to hear the pastor there and make Thank God Almighty for all his blessings. »
The Pilgrim Fathers, persecuted in their homeland for their religious fundamentalist rather, They decided to leave England and go to the New World, the current North America.
Thanksgiving became a party every year since 1863. Not everyone sees this festival as a reason to celebrate. Every year since 1970, a group of Native Americans and their supporters staged a protest for a day of national mourning on Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This time of year is observed the’American Indian Heritage Day. Some claim that the first Thanksgiving was held in the city of El Paso, in Texas in 1598. Another event was held in 1619 in the colony of Virginia. Many people trace the origins of Thanksgiving to the harvest festival held that the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621. However, their very first Thanksgiving was in 1623, when they gave thanks for the rain that followed a drought. These early thanks took the form of a special church service, rather than party.
In the second half of the 1600, Thanksgiving after the harvest became more common and started to become an annual event. However, is celebrated on different days in different communities and in some places there have been more than a thanksgiving every year. George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789.
