How is Thanksgiving Day Celebrated?

For most of the Americans, the Thanksgiving meal is all about the seasonal dishes such as roasted turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, and cranberry sauce. This Thanksgiving Holiday feast dates back to November 1621, when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians socialized at Plymouth for an autumn harvest celebration. This event is regarded as America’s “1st ever Thanksgiving celebration.” For the importance of Turkey meal on this day, Thanksgiving is also known as Turkey Day”. But apart from Turkey and the meal, Thanksgiving also includes the following:

Travel:

Do you know that Thanksgiving Day is the busiest travel day of the year? Why? That’s because people tend to spend quality time with their friends and family members. So, people who live far away from their families, cross distance through the bus, trains, or flight to meet and greet their loved ones.

Helping Others:

This day is considered to be a day to help others. Generous people lend their helping hands to the people who are less fortunate. Some people volunteer food for the poor or go to homeless shelters with food or clothes.

Television:

TV also play a role in Thanksgiving Day celebration! How? The whole family sit in front of the TV set and watch the famous Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York every year. This Parade includes floats, marching bands, songs and performances, Broadway musicals, and large balloons. And people also enjoy their football game on this day.

After Meal Activity:

Once the whole family is done with the feast, they like to engage in some additional activities too like a long walk, naps, play indoor and outdoor games together.

The Lavish Meal Of Thanksgiving:

Without a separate segment for the meal of this day, the article would be incomplete. Among all the other activities of Thanksgiving Day, the meal is the most important one as food unites people.

• Turkey is the main dish and the whole turkey is taken and stuffed with things like onion, celery, mushrooms, salt, pepper, tomatoes, green pepper, unsweetened cherries, pecans, eggs, sage, parsley, etc. This is a fulfilling food item and after eating this Thanksgiving food, many people have reported that they feel drowsy. Turkey contains tryptophan which is an amino acid that can have a somnolent effect. But studies claim that actually the carbohydrate-rich side dishes and desserts allows this tryptophan to enter the brain. That’s why people prefer to take a nap post having the meal.
• The fruits and vegetables of autumn were used to feast during the 1st ever Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the year 1621. So, the local veggies like lettuce, carrots, beans, onions, cabbage, spinach, onions, corn, etc. were eaten by people. In those times, corn was probably removed from the cob and turned into cornmeal, which was then boiled and pounded into a thick corn mush or porridge that was occasionally sweetened with molasses.
• Now, people eat mashed potatoes for which potatoes are boiled and then mashed along with salt, pepper, olive oil, unsalted butter, heavy cream, and some chives.
• Carrot is another famous side dish that is enjoyed by people. Carrots are first peeled and cut into long pieces. Coconut oil, salt, honey, cayenne, and parsley are used to prepare this amazing side dish. Carrots are fried a bit until they become tender.
• Green Bean Casserole is another side dish item that is very famous in all households. Green beans, salt, unsalted butter, Italian bread, chives, thyme, rosemary, grated parmesan, olive oil, mushrooms, onions, and heavy cream are used to make this lip-smacking dish.
• Another traditional side dish is cranberry sauce. Fresh, washed, and dried cranberries are mixed with sugar, water, cinnamon stick, allspice, orange zest, orange juice, and nutmeg.
• The last but not the least side dish is the cast iron skillet cornbread prepared with cornmeal and all-purpose flour along with other baking ingredients.
• A wonderful soup is made out of butternut squash along with unsalted butter, salt, white pepper, honey, chicken broth, minced ginger, heavy cream, and nutmeg.
• The dessert for Thanksgiving Day is Pumpkin Pie. It is made with pumpkin puree, dark brown sugar, ground ginger, unsalted butter, cookies, half and half, salt, nutmeg, and eggs.

Some Other Facts About Thanksgiving Day Meal

• There is a tradition in some families of breaking Turkey’s wishbone as a part of the Thanksgiving Celebration. This wishbone is found attached to the breast meat in Turkeys. Once the meat has been removed from the wishbone, the wishbone becomes dry and brittle. Then two people take one end of the bone, make a wish, and pull it apart. It is believed that whoever gets the bigger part of the wishbone, is granted with the fulfillment of the wish!
• Every year, the President of the United States of America receives a gift in the form of a live Turkey along with an alternate one in case something wrong happens to official Turkey. During the Thanksgiving Ceremony at the White House, the president “pardons” the National Thanksgiving Turkey and the alternate Turkeys that allows them to live out the rest of their lives on a farm.
• Not many know that Benjamin Franklin wanted Turkey and not Eagle to be the National Bird.
• Every year approximately 46 million Turkeys are eaten by the Americans. And the Californians consume the most number of Turkeys.
• The menu of the first Thanksgiving in 1621 was different from what is followed now. Some say, only deer, geese, ducks, oysters, lobster, eel, and other fish were eaten. Maybe only pumpkin and not pumpkin pie was eaten.
• The NFL started the Thanksgiving Classic games in 1920 and since then the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have hosted games on Turkey Day or Thanksgiving Day.
• An average Turkey for Thanksgiving weighs at least 15 pounds.