Thanksgiving in 2018 is November 22, October 15 and Thursday in 1898 (year of the dog). Thanksgiving Day is an American holiday. It is the fourth Thursday in November. It will last from Thursday to Sunday. It is the second largest holiday in the United States after Christmas.
The custom of Thanksgiving
Every Thanksgiving Day, the whole country in the United States is very lively. Costume parades, theatrical performances and sports competitions are held everywhere in urban and rural cities and towns. Schools and shops also have holidays according to regulations. The children also imitated the appearance of Indians in those days, put on strange clothes, painted faces or put on masks, and went to the street to sing and play trumpets. On that day, there were many people in the church. According to custom, people should do Thanksgiving prayers here. On Thanksgiving, every family member always tries to come back from all over the world. The family sits around, chews delicious turkey and talks about the past. Why doesn't it make people feel particularly kind and warm.
Eat turkey: Thanksgiving food is very traditional. Every Thanksgiving, Americans and Canadians must have fat and tender Turkey to eat. Turkey is the traditional main course of Thanksgiving. After Europe immigrated to America, they felt that the appearance of turkeys was very similar to Turkey's "black head red" clothing characteristics, so they called them "turkey". In 1947, President Truman's administration added a ceremony for the president to release turkeys. In fact, this traditional ceremony can be traced back to President Lincoln's administration. One day in 1863, Lincoln's son Ted suddenly broke into the cabinet chamber and asked for a pardon for a pet turkey named Jack. Because the turkey sent to the White House is about to become people's Thanksgiving dinner. On November 20, 2007, President Bush released two turkeys called 'may' and 'flower' at the annual Turkey release ceremony. Their names are linked together, which means the 'Mayflower' on which the pilgrims came to the new world.
Food delivery: since the 18th century, there has been a custom of sending a basket of food to poor people in the United States. At that time, a group of young women wanted to choose one day of the year to do charity. They thought that Thanksgiving was the most appropriate choice. So as soon as Thanksgiving Day arrived, they loaded a basket full of food and personally sent it to the poor family. It was rumored that many people soon began to do it like them.
Set the table: the layout of the Thanksgiving table is also very distinctive. Instead of putting flowers as usual, housewives put fruits and vegetables. A big pumpkin is often placed in the middle, surrounded by apples, corn and dried fruits. Sometimes people also empty out apples or pumpkins, fill them with shelled dried fruits or light candles. Usually, the hostess can let the guests into the living room after dinner, but she doesn't do so on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner is sweet. Everyone is willing to stay at the dinner table for a while. While eating, they happily recall the past until the last candle burns out.
Play games: after Thanksgiving dinner, some families often play traditional games, such as dancing and competition. Some of them have been handed down to this day.
Cranberry competition: a large bowl containing cranberries is placed on the ground. 4 to 10 competitors sit around and give each one a needle and thread. At the beginning of the game, they first put on needles and thread, and then strung the cranberries one by one. Once 3 minutes arrive, whoever strings the longest will win the prize. As for the slowest dressed man, they jokingly gave him a worst prize.
Corn game: it is said that this is handed down to commemorate the five corn given to each immigrant in the case of food shortage. During the game, people hid five corn in the house, and everyone looked for it separately. The five people who found the corn participated in the game, and the others watched. At the beginning of the competition, five people quickly peeled the corn grains in a bowl. Whoever peeled them first won the prize. Then, people who did not participate in the competition gathered around the bowl to guess how many corn kernels there were. The closest prize was popcorn.
Pumpkin race: the competitor pushes the pumpkin with a small spoon. The rule is never to touch the pumpkin with your hand. The one who reaches the end first wins the prize. The smaller the spoon used in the game, the more interesting the game is, which often makes everyone laugh.
In addition to these activities, some families drive to the countryside for outings or travel by plane during the festival, especially Plymouth port, where immigrants settled in those years. There, you can see the imitation ship and Plymouth stone according to the Mayflower, and you can spend a few hours visiting the immigrant village. The immigrant village was built as it was then. During the visit, special personnel dressed as Puritans talked with the tourists, giving people the feeling of being on the scene.