History

Americans of all religions celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

Thanksgiving is a special day for families and people travel great distances to be with their families.

They give thanks for the food and blessings

HistoryThe tradition started when in 1620 a group of men , women and children left England on a ship called Mayflower.

They were pilgrims and they wanted to start a new life in the New World

HistoryThe voyage was very hard.They were cold and hungry and many of them died.The voyage took 65 days. They landed on the north –east coast of North America. What today we know as Massachusetts.When they arrived it was almost winter so they had no time to grow crops. The winter was long. Very few survived.

History

In spring native Americans, the wampanoag Indians, helped them.They taught the pilgrims how to grow corn, how to hunt and how to fish.The summer harvest was very good and by november, a year after their first arrival, there was food for everybody.

HistoryThe pilgrims wanted to

celebrate it and invited the native Americans to a great dinner where they gave thanks to God for the food. That was the first Thanksgiving dinner.

Today the traditional thanksgiving meal is similar to the first. They eat roast turkey with cranberry sauce, potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie

Food

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Annually department store chain Macy's makes a grand parade through the streets of Manhattan , New York , attracting millions to Broadway Avenue to see the huge giant balloons and witness performances by guest artists.

Home shopping season

Most businesses and offices are closed on this day. Some stores , shopping centers, restaurants and bars remain open. The next Friday the party is the traditional opening of the Christmas shopping season . This day is known as " black Friday ".Stores and shops all offer bargain prices and many people go from early morning to the malls .

Other data

• For millions of Americans, Thanksgiving Day and NFL football are inextricably linked.