Thanksgiving 2021: All you need to know about celebrations, significance of popular holiday festival

Thanksgiving is an annual celebration marked as a national holiday in the United States. It is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and marks the day when people of the US celebrate the harvest and other blessings of the previous year. The day is considered one of the busiest holidays in the US and also marks the beginning of the holiday season. This year, the American national holiday falls on Thursday, 25 November. Unlike other holidays, the main purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving is being thankful for what we have. To celebrate the day, friends and families get together, decorate their houses and enjoy a hearty meal. The famous Thanksgiving meal includes turkey, pumpkin pie, bread stuffing, potatoes, and cranberries. Thanksgiving is also celebrated in other countries including, Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Japan. Interestingly, the day falls on the second Monday of October in Canada. Celebrations of Thanksgiving Day: In the US, the center of the festivities is Turkey and it is included in the traditional feast. Interestingly, every year, the current President of the US pardons the Thanksgiving turkey on the morning of the celebrations, a ritual that has been followed for generations. On the day, the world’s largest Thanksgiving parade known as ‘Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in New York City. This parade attracts several tourists. The parade consists of dancers, marching bands, and giant cartoon balloons. History and significance of Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is celebrated to recognize and cherish the blessings and sacrifices of the previous year. The annual celebrations represent the first Thanksgiving feast that was shared between colonists, later known as Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians in Massachusetts. In the year 1863, the then President of the US, Abraham Lincoln had announced a national day of ‘Thanksgiving’ to be celebrated on Thursday, 26 November. After that, the annual holiday was proclaimed by every President. President Franklin D Roosevelt had issued an order in 1942 that designated the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. The order was issued by President Roosevelt after a joint resolution of Congress in 1941. The next day after the festival marks Black Friday, a mega shopping festival with huge discounts on all kinds of products.