Thanksgiving in the United States

“There is no better way of earning more and more than being thankful for what all you have and trying to achieve whatever more you want in your life. Thanksgiving Day is all about saying thanks to every single breath.” (Sonali Pathak)

Credit: PKPI scholars 2016

It was the second weeks of November 2016, My friends and I were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with some people in the United States. We had Thanksgiving gathering in Pak Tunru's house (an Indonesian fellow in DeKalb, Illinois), Judy Ledgerwood's family (the Director of Southeast Asian Studies-NIU), Andrea Monarl's house (a Professor in Northern Illinois University), and International students dinner in Holmes Students Center-NIU. We got together for a special meal. The meal included a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables, as well as some Indonesian food deliberately provided.

Thanksgiving in the US is a time for many people to offer thanks for what they have. It is a time for communal gathering, feeling gratitude, lavish feasts. The feast popularly known as the 'First Thanksgiving Day Feast' was held as a gesture of thanks to Almighty God  Thanksgiving Day is, traditionally, a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. Holiday held for 5 days longer than religion holidays ever.

There are claims that the first Thanksgiving Day was held in the city of El Paso, Texas in 1598. Another early event was held in 1619 in the Virginia Colony. Many people trace the origins of the modern Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration that the Pilgrims held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. However, their first true Thanksgiving was in 1623, when they gave thanks for rain that ended a drought. These early thanksgivings took the form of a special church service, rather than a feast. In the second half of the 1600s, thanksgivings after the harvest became more common and started to become annual events. However, it was celebrated on different days in different communities and in some places, there were more than one Thanksgiving each year. George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day in 1789. 

Until recently, people believed Thanksgiving Day to be a celebration of pilgrims, offering food to Indians. It, however, is a day marked as a gesture of thanks and gratitude to Lord Almighty for his blessings. It is also a celebration to mark the respect towards Indians for teaching the pilgrims how to cook. Pilgrims could not have survived without the help of the native Indians.

Thanksgiving Day is a time of festivity, family meals, and reunions in America. Carved turkeys, Pumpkin Pie, Corns, Cranberry Sauce are the traditional dishes adorning the dinner tables in almost every house. A time for feasting, Thanksgiving Day epitomizes the holiday mood of people.

Thanksgiving is a time for gifting family and friends. The day is a time to show our gratitude and respect to our elders, friends, our siblings and also our colleagues. Popular gifts include thanksgiving flowers, jewelry, baked cookie hampers, chocolate gift baskets, candy-wreaths, wine etc.

www.history.com 

www.thanksgiving-day.org.