Did you have a good four day Thanksgiving break last week? Did you eat turkey? Aren’t you curious why we celebrate it and all other things about Thanksgiving Day? First, I’m sure everyone knows that Thanksgiving Day started between English and Native Americans, who also known as Indians. It changed little by little from a big feast that was celebrating the first successful harvest to current holiday. I’ll start with some general historic stories.


According to Wikipedia, the national holiday celebrated originally in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the previous year is Thanksgiving Day. In similar ways, many other places around the world celebrate it. On the fourth Thursday of November, U.S. celebrate it and on the second Monday of October in Canada decided it as a Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions.


A small group of English Puritans known as the Separatists broke away from the Church of England. Some fled from the village of Scrooby to Amsterdam to avoid religious persecution. They dismayed that their children were growing up Dutch rather than English, so they decided to try their luck in the Virginia colony. From September 16th, 1620 to November 19th, 1620, they had a rough trip in the ship called Mayflower and ended up with arriving at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Many of them died during the long travel, but they survived- thanks to Native Americans who already settled there and helped English. The second winter, English and this Native Americans had a very successful harvest and they together had a big feast for like a week.


Recently on this day, turkey, stuffing, corns, mashed or sweet potato, pumpkin pie, gravy, cranberry sauce, and some dressings are usually associated with Thanksgiving celebrations to. Of course, turkey is the traditional main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, and other foods are the side dishes. However, the first Thanksgiving was much different than how it is today. English and a tribe called Wampanoag had duck, vension, seafood, cabbage, onions, corn, and squash, etc. Sometimes they ate together but sometimes separately.


Overall, Thanksgiving Day is the cultural holiday in USA (and in Canada), Today, people often go shopping on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday. But remember, the most meaningful things of the Thanksgiving Day are giving thanks of the blessing of the harvest, being together with family or relatives, spending time with them, and having happy conversations.