Thanksgiving 2021: History, significance, celebration of popular holiday festival

The holiday season is here! As people all year round wait for Thanksgiving holiday festival, it is an annual celebration marked as a national holiday in the United States and celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November annually.

The festival is marked as people in US, Brazil and other countries celebrate the harvest and other blessings of the previous year.

This day is celebrated to say thanks and recognize the sacrifices and blessings of the past year. It also marks the beginning of the holiday season with various rituals. The holiday festival also marks the beginning of a month-long shopping festival for the winter holidays including Black Friday sales for the season.

This year, the United States of America (USA) is observing Thanksgiving Day on November 25, 2021 (Thursday).

Thanksgiving Day history

The annual feast of Thanksgiving is to honour the 'first Thanksgiving in America, in 1619 in Virginia, and in 1621. During this time, the colonists, later known as the Pilgrims, shared a meal with the Wampanoag Indians in Massachusetts.

Therefore, the American tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to 1621 when the pilgrims did thanksgiving for their first bumper harvest in Plymouth Rock.

US Presidents including George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison later declared a day of thanks throughout their presidencies. President Abraham Lincoln called for the celebration of a national Thanksgiving Day each November by the country.

Thanksgiving Day 2021 celebration

To celebrate the day, most Americans organize big gatherings. Friends and families get together, decorate their houses and enjoy a hearty meal. The famous Thanksgiving meal includes turkey, pumpkin pie, bread stuffing, potatoes, and cranberries.

The holiday is also special as people write down the things they are thankful for and then read them aloud from the pieces of paper.

Additionally, the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in New York City along with the other celebrations of the holiday. It is the world's largest Thanksgiving parade, which consists of giant cartoon balloons that float above the sky accompanied by dancers and marching bands.