The leaves change color, families come together, and the smell of apple cider and pumpkin spice fill the air. It’s the time of year when tummies are full of turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. First established by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 in an effort to unify a divided nation,  many people in the United States celebrate the day of Thanksgiving by cooking lots of food and gathering with family. As families celebrate what they’re thankful for, the day is usually accompanied by food and football. Traditions such as breaking the wish bone, playing tackle football with your family, or sitting around the table saying everything you are grateful for are among the more common family rituals on Thanksgiving.

Foods frequently eaten on Thanksgiving are turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and cornbread. “Thanksgiving meal is the one meal I look forward to all year. I love a good home cooked meal,” said LHS Senior Ramsay Smith.

Many people enjoy desserts such as apple pie and pumpkin pie at the end of the meal as well. It is common for families to cook these meals together, and while making wonderful food, they enjoy the company of being surrounded by family and friends. “I know a tradition of my family is that while the women of my family prepare dinner, the men talk about business and sports and after dinner the men serve us dessert,” said Page Frantz, Sophomore at William and Mary. Pies are an important part of Thanksgiving as well. Pecan pie and pumpkin pie are the two most popular pies eaten on this holiday and brings festive cheer to homes.

Among the food and family comes other traditions such as watching football or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy’s Parade started in 1924 when the Macy’s department store held their first parade on the streets of New York City. In the parade, larger than life balloons showing famous characters float the streets, elaborate floats themed around history, and popular entertainers perform, along with high school and college marching bands. This extravagant parade has been televised since 1924 when it first began. The parade lasts for 3 hours and has a 2.5 mile route that it covers. It takes about a year and 6 months to plan. “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade plays on the TV every year on Thanksgiving. My sister and Dad love this parade,” said Carly Orlowski, LHS Senior. The parade brings people together to enjoy the entertaining floats, bands, Broadway musical acts and, of course, giant balloons.

This year, three big NFL games happened the day of Thanksgiving. The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, and the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. Many viewers tune in to relax and bond with their family and friends over football and food. Thanksgiving is also a great day to enjoy fun games such as cards against humanity, poker, or even scrabble!

The traditional story of Thanksgiving, although somewhat shy of the actual facts of the situation, tells about the year, 1620 when pilgrims came from Plymouth, England to explore the new world. Unfortunately, due to a frigid, cold winter, only half of the Mayflower’s crew and passengers were able to see the new world and survive there. They were greeted by an Indian who spoke English and soon the pilgrims joined together with a local tribe, the Wampanoag. The tribe taught the pilgrims how to grow harvest and food. The Governor of the pilgrims organized a feast for the pilgrims and their native American allies, this feast is what we now call Thanksgiving. The Native Americans helped the pilgrims with the cooking, hunting, and spicing. The feast lasted for three days and is still celebrated each year to this day.

In fact, very little is known about the first Thanksgiving, and the story of the Pilgrims confederation with the Wampanoags was only introduced to the national mythology toward the end of the 19th century, all based on a single letter that was found among old correspondence and historical documents!

Different country. Different day. Same holiday. In Canada, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday each year. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving similar to Americans by eating similar food and traditional watching football. Another Thanksgiving tradition in Canada is hiking. Many families enjoying hiking in the beautiful autumn colors in Canada as a nice break. Families come together, cook turkey and enjoy some pumpkin pie as they celebrate this festive holiday full of food and friends. Canada and America celebrate Thanksgiving in similar ways, as both enjoy the company of family, food, and football.

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It's always a good time to play card games with family! Cards of Humanity and card games are a great way to spend time with family or company.