The origin and customs of Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day (English name: Thanksgiving Day) is a traditional Western holiday, is the United States, Canada to thank God for the annual harvest of the holiday, originated in Massachusetts Plymouth early settlers. Canadian Thanksgiving Day is scheduled for the second Monday in October each year, and American Thanksgiving Day is scheduled for the fourth Thursday in November each year. In terms of customs, the United States and Canada are basically the same, food customs: eat roast turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry moss jam, sweet yams, corn; activities: play cranberry race, corn games, pumpkin race; held a costume parade, theater performances or sports competitions and other collective activities.

American Origins

The origins of Thanksgiving can be traced to the beginnings of American history, originating with the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Known as Puritans when they were on English soil, these immigrants were dissatisfied with the incomplete Reformation of the Church of England, as well as the political repression and religious persecution by the King of England and the Church of England, so these Puritans broke away from the Church of England and traveled as far away as Holland, and later decided to relocate across the Atlantic Ocean to that deserted and uninhabited land in the hopes of being able to be as religious and free as they wished to be.

In 1620, the famous Mayflower, a ship full of 102 Puritans who couldn't stand the religious persecution in England, arrived in the Americas, and in the winter of 1620 and 1621, they were met by refugees who brought them the bare necessities of life, and who sent them people to teach them how to hunt, fish, and grow corn and pumpkins. . With the help of the Indians, the immigrants finally got a good harvest, and on the day of the celebration of the harvest, according to the custom of religious tradition, the immigrants set a day of thanks to God, and decided to thank the Indians for their sincere help by inviting them to join them in celebrating the holiday.

On a Thursday in late November 1621, the Pilgrims and 90 Indians brought by Massasoit gathered to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in American history. They fired a cannon salute at dawn, marched into a house used as a church to give thanks to God, and then lit a bonfire and held a great feast, where the Indians were treated to the delicacies of the turkey they had hunted. The next day and the third day there was wrestling, running, singing, dancing and other activities. The male Puritans went out to hunt and catch turkeys, while the women made delicious meals at home with corn, squash, sweet potatoes and fruit. In this way, whites and Indians gathered around campfires, ate and talked, and sang and danced, and the whole celebration lasted for three days. Many of the ways in which the first Thanksgiving was celebrated have been passed down to future generations.

Customs

Regional ****ness

United States, Canada

In terms of customs, the United States and Canada are basically the same, food customs: eat roast turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry moss seed jam, sweet yams, corn; activities: play cranberry race, corn games, pumpkin race; held a parade in costume, theatrical performances or sports competitions and other collective activities, and a corresponding holiday of two days, people in faraway places will go home to reunite with their loved ones. Now also formed the exemption turkey, Black Friday shopping and other habits.

There are many similarities between Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, such as the cornicopia and pumpkin pie, which are filled with fruits and grains to symbolize abundance. The food on the table at a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner usually varies with the region and time of year, too - some venison and waterfowl, some ducks and geese, but mostly turkey and ham at the moment.

Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner is the most important meal of the year for Americans, and it is a very rich meal, with turkey and pumpkin pie on the table.

American Thanksgiving food is rich in tradition. Turkey is the traditional Thanksgiving main course, usually the turkey stomach stuffed with a variety of seasonings and mixed food, and then roasted out of the whole, the skin baked into a dark brown, by the host with a knife cut into thin slices and distributed to everyone. Then each person pours his own marinade and sprinkles it with salt for a delicious flavor. In addition, traditional Thanksgiving foods include sweet yams, corn, pumpkin pie, cranberry-moss seed jam, bread baked by oneself and a variety of vegetables and fruits.

Games

After the meal, traditional games are often played. For example, dancing, various contests and many other entertainments. One game is called the cranberry race, in which a large bowl containing cranberries is placed on the ground and 4-10 contestants sit around it, each given a needle and thread. At the beginning of the game, they threaded the needle and thread and then strung up the cranberries one by one for three minutes; whoever strung them up the longest won the prize. As for the slowest person, they jokingly gave him a prize for being the worst.

There is another corn game that is also very old. First, five corn is hidden in the house, and everyone splits up to look for it. The five people who find the corn participate in the game, while the others watch from the sidelines. The game began, five people quickly peeled corn kernels in a bowl, who first peeled who won the prize, and then by the people who did not participate in the game around the bowl next to guess how many kernels of corn, guess the number of closest to the prize to a large bag of corn flowers.

The favorite game is the pumpkin race. The contestants use a small spoon to push the pumpkin to run, the rule is that you can never touch the pumpkin with your hands, and the first to the finish line wins the prize. The smaller the spoon, the more fun the game is.

Outings

American Thanksgiving Day, in addition to these activities, some families will drive to the countryside to go on an outing, or take a plane out of the trip, when the immigrants settled in the place - Plymouth Harbor is the place where tourists want to be. There, you can see a replica of the Mayflower and the Plymouth Rock, and you can visit the Village, which is modeled after the Mayflower.

Shopping

November 28, 2013, Thanksgiving Day, the United States, New York, people have flocked to the major shopping malls and supermarkets to shop in advance of the start of Black Friday.

Parade

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which began in 1924, is the largest Thanksgiving Day celebration in the United States, and is held annually on Thanksgiving Day, which is the fourth Thursday in November

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which began in 1924, is the largest Thanksgiving Day celebration in the United States.