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Why Is Thanksgiving Day Celebrated? -The Significance of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving: National Holiday

In the United States of America, Thanksgiving is among the most eagerly awaited holidays. During this season, individuals gather to express gratitude and pay homage to a long-standing tradition that has been going on for centuries and celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year.

Everyone dines together, enjoys each other's laughter, jokes, music, and positivity, as it marks the beginning of the holiday season, followed by the Christmas Celebrations, which is once again a huge event. At the time of Thanksgiving, the center of the celebration is turkey, which is prepared in the old traditional manner along with pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and a vegetable dish according to the season.

Explore why this beloved holiday is celebrated and what truly inspires. 

Historical Value

It is traced to 1621, and the Pilgrims, or the English colonists who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620, shared a three-day harvest feast with the Wampanoag Native Americans. Meanwhile, the pilgrims endured a difficult first winter, in the aftermath of which half of the members of their party died of cold and hunger. The second year, two was fruitful, and a harvest was made, but on the good-natured help of the Wampanoag, who had taught them how to cultivate the native produce and how to hunt the native game. 

To honor their survival and welcome good fortune, the two groups gather together to share the food, which surely includes turkey, venison, fowl, corn, and squash. Know that the event is widely recognized as one of the earliest ?Thanksgiving traditional ways of celebration, following which other similar gatherings also took place in Colonial America, as records show as early as 1619. 

Let?s hear how Thanksgiving became a ?National Thanksgiving Holiday?

You would be surprised to know that it was not until the 19th century that ?Thanksgiving? gained so much importance that it became a national holiday. All the credit here goes to Sarah Josepha Hale, a writer and editor who tirelessly campaigned for a national ?Thanksgiving holiday?. Her hard work and efforts bore fruit when President Abraham Lincoln, amidst the Civil War in 1863, proclaimed that each November there would be a national Thanksgiving holiday. 

Complex History and Modern Perspectives

Thanksgiving is well celebrated as a time of unity among the Americans and all other groups that are well recognized and value the holiday?s more complicated legacy. 

Learn that the interaction between the colonies and the indigenous was not just cooperation, as it was also loss and war. Because of this, Thanksgiving is an occasion to remember the ancestors as well as the entire history, comprising the numerous struggles that are occasionally experienced by the Native communities. And nowadays, the consciousness of the origin of the holiday has increased, and the discussions of the respectful celebration have begun. 

Moment of Reflection and Unity 

Despite the fact that Thanksgiving is a joyful day, it is a moment of reflection. The convoluted history of Native Americans and European settlers is one of the opportunities that most Americans capitalize on. There have been attempts to honor Native American history and recognize their essential role during the first Thanksgiving and the misery they were forced to undergo during the subsequent years.

The spirit of Thanksgiving, which can be attained with a thoughtful family dinner, good works, or individual considerations, makes all humans thankful for the good in their lives and share the blessings with others.

Key Note

Thanksgiving Day is well celebrated to respect and honor the many centuries-old traditions of both gratitude and community. Since its primitive origin in 1621, up to nowadays, when it has become a fundamental part of American society, the holiday still helps us remember that we should always be thankful, kind, and united. Thanksgiving urgently asks us to slow down in a world that tends to go at an unrealistically fast pace, to list our blessings, and to spend time with those people and things that are actually important to us.