Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November which became the uniform date country-wide in The modern national celebration dates to and has been linked to the Pilgrims' harvest festival since the late 19th century. As the name implies, the theme of the holiday generally revolves around giving thanks with the centerpiece of most celebrations being a Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends.
The dinner often consists of foods associated with New England harvest celebrations: turkey , potatoes usually mashed and sweet , squash , corn maize , green beans , cranberries typically as cranberry sauce , and pumpkin pie , but has expanded over the years to include specialties from other regions of the United States, such as pecan pie the American South and wild rice stuffing the Great Lakes region as well as international and ethnic dishes.
Other Thanksgiving customs include charitable organizations offering Thanksgiving dinner for the poor, attending religious services , and watching or participating in parades and American football games.
Thanksgiving is also typically regarded as the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The day following Thanksgiving, Black Friday , is often considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. Cyber Monday , the online shopping equivalent to Black Friday, is held on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Days of thanksgiving, that is, days attributed to giving thanks to deities, have existed for thousands of years and long predate the European colonization of North America. Ranging from general harvest festivals to more specific holidays related to thanking gods for the specific boons they provided to their worshipers or humanity in general such as the Tekh Festival thanking the goddess Hathor for the creation of alcohol. These were often celebrated with music, dancing, bonfires and the donning of accoutrements or costumes.
