Thanksgiving Day is falling on Thursday, 23rd November 2017. In ‘The United States of America’, it is the holiday on fourth Thursday of November every year. Thanksgiving Day is the official beginning of the holiday season.

Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863. Not everyone sees Thanksgiving Day as a cause for celebration. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have. It is the best time of the year to spend time with family, eating good food and taking a moment to be thankful. Most families in America follow their own traditions every year.

Many people who live far from family members travel long distances to be with their loved ones. It is the busiest travel day of the year there. Together with Christmas  and the New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the broader winter holiday season in the U.S.

Traditional food is the biggest attraction of Thanksgiving celebrations. The entire family gets involved in food preparation. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce come in the list of the main menu. Serving pie for dessert at the end of the meal is a part of the tradition. Popular pie flavors are pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato and apple. Others who prefer to serve vegetarian, eat vegetarian turkey made out of tofu. Squash, salads and fruits comprise of vegetarian menu.

Breaking the turkey’s wishbone that is attached to the breast in the turkey’s chest is also a part of the celebration. Two people take one end of the bone, make a wish and pull. Whoever ends up with the larger part of the bone gets their wish.The festival provides a good opportune to help the less fortunate. Some people volunteer to serve food at homeless shelters. Some others participate in canned food drive.

Many families watch the New York City Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The parade includes marching bands, floats songs and performances from Broadway musicals and giant helium-filled balloons. Some people enjoy football games on television.

Some parades or festivities also mark the opening of the Christmas shopping season. Some people have a four-day weekend so it is a popular time for trips and to visit family and friends.After the feast, additional activities also form a significant part of the day. Some people prefer to go on walks after eating the luxurious heavy meal. Some like to sit together and chat, some love to play board or card games together.

Thanksgiving is a holiday for everyone in America – regardless of whether their family joins them or not. The celebrations are as varied as Americans themselves and run the spectrum of emotion and experience from as rural as watching grandma slaughter the holiday bird by the barn, to the traditional with family football games in the yard and to modern with multi-cultural meals complete with egg rolls.

Happy Thanksgiving Day 2017!