Image via WikipediaThanksgiving Day in United States is observed on the fourth Thursday in November which has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863, when during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26.
The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive their first brutal winter in New England. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish (cod, eels, and bass) and shellfish (clams, lobster, and mussels), wild fowl (ducks, geese, swans, and turkey), venison, berries and fruit, vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beetroot and possibly, wild or cultivated onion), harvest grains (barley and wheat), and the Three Sisters: beans, dried Indian maize or corn, and squash.
In recent days during thanksgiving, families and friends usually gather for a large meal or dinner. Thanksgiving Eve, the night before the thanksgiving is one of the busiest nights for the bars and clubs and weekend is one of the busiest travel period of the year.
Day after Thanksgiving (BLACK FRIDAY)
The day after Thanksgiving is a day off for some companies and many schools. It is popularly known as Black Friday, because of the heavy shopping that day helps put retailers books back into black. Black Friday has been considered by retailers to be the start of the Christmas shopping season since as early as the 1930s.
