Thanksgiving 2022: Date, history, significance and celebration

Thanksgiving officially marks the beginning of the holiday season and this American holiday is also celebrated in Germany, Brazil, Canada, Japan and other countries.

Date:

Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October in Canada while it is marked as a national holiday on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. This year Americans are all set to give thanks and celebrate Thanksgiving with their families on November 24.

History:

This American holiday has many legends and rituals attached to its name. Thanksgiving is deeply rooted in the history of America and its religion and cultural traditions. Americans believe that their thanksgiving is modelled after the 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists of Plymouth, Massachusetts, later known as the Pilgrims and the Native American Wampanoag people. The festival was observed in the manner of a feast that brought together the two peoples in celebration of having survived

This was acknowledged as the first Thanksgiving and for the following two centuries many individual colonies and states celebrated this festival on various days. It wasn’t until 1863, during the American civil war that President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day that was to be held each November.

The holiday was annually proclaimed by every President thereafter. However, after a joint resolution of Congress in 1941, President Franklin D Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1942 designating the fourth Thursday in November (which is not always the last Thursday) as Thanksgiving Day.

Significance:

Thanksgiving is celebrated to say thanks and recognise the sacrifices and blessings of the past year. Later, with more urbanisation, Thanksgiving became a day for people to get together with their friends and family to celebrate the day with a scrumptious feast. They also decorate their homes to get right into the festive spirit. The holiday moved away from its religious roots to allow immigrants of every background to participate in a common tradition.

Celebrations:

A traditional Thanksgiving meal typically includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. It is one of the busiest holidays as families get together and celebrate this day with a hearty meal.

Turkey bird is central to the Thanksgiving festivities in America. The bird is included in the traditional feast. Moreover, every President of the United States of America follows a ritual every Thanksgiving. They pardon the Thanksgiving turkey on the morning of the celebration.

Additionally, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in New York City with other celebrations. It is the world’s largest Thanksgiving parade which consists of giant cartoon balloons that float above the sky accompanied by dancers and marching bands.

Most families who live away from each other, make it a point to get together and celebrate all the blessings of the past years and eat a grand meal together on Thanksgiving day. As family dynamics and people have changed over the course of the years, so have the traditions surrounding the festival. It is a popular joke among the millennials that going home during Thanksgiving is sure to start a political debate with some aunt or uncle once they let their ‘MAGA’ leaning slip.