Thanksgiving Day 2017: All You Need to Know About This Popular American Holiday
While some countries around the world have their respective versions of Thanksgiving Day, American Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, which falls on Nov. 23 this year.
Contrary to what some people thought, the USA is not the only country in the world that celebrates Thanksgiving Day. While Puerto Rico also celebrates Thanksgiving on the same day America does, Canada observes it on the second Monday of October, Grenada on October 25, and Liberia on every first Thursday of November.
Historians claim that Thanksgiving began in 1621 after the Pilgrims yielded a bountiful harvest, thanks to the help of Native Americans who also introduced them to other crops and skills, including fishing and hunting. Because of the bountiful harvest, the Pilgrims were able to avert the same experience they had when they first landed on Plymouth, Massachusetts the year prior, when they had to get by with rationed food due to the harsh winter.
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Thanksgiving Day officially became an official American celebration in 1863 when then American president Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it as a national holiday. However, it was not until the 1900s when the day emerged as one of the most popular holidays that many Americans look forward to even up to this day.
American Thanksgiving Day is not the celebration that it is known for without the traditional roasted Turkey and pumpkin pie on the dinner table. While the Thanksgiving Day menu continues to evolve through the years, the two aforementioned culinary creations have remained a staple for the celebration.
According to a data of Statistic Brain, Americans are expected to spend $2.9 billion on Thanksgiving-related groceries this year, with an average American family spending around $59.18 just for Thanksgiving dinner alone. Including their expenses on the Thanksgiving weekend, it is projected that an American household will be spending a total of $342 for Thanksgiving this year.
Apart from the mouth-watering dishes sprawling on the dinner table, American Thanksgiving Day is also characterized by joyous parades in different parades held in the different parts of the country. Of all the Thanksgiving Day parades held annually, though, there is no denying that Macy's in New York is considered the grandest because of the numerous floating giant balloons and celebrities that are present in it.
