What is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. On this day, families and friends gather together to give thanks for the year they have had, and try to focus on celebrating the good things that have happened to them. Thanksgiving has a unique history and many traditions, both of which are constantly changing and evolving over time.
At its core, Thanksgiving is a time of celebrating the abundance received in your year. In the past, when people were much more dependent on their own crops for food, Thanksgiving had a much bigger focus on giving thanks for a successful harvest. Today, very few people in the United States and Canada rely solely on their own ability to grow food. The day is now focused on spending time with family, and recognizing the good in your life.
All of that being said, Thanksgiving is famous for one thing in particular: the food. Before we dig in (see what I did there?), let’s first look at the history of Thanksgiving and what other traditions make this holiday extra special.
The First Thanksgiving
The story of the first Thanksgiving often told to school children is very simple. Pilgrims seeking to colonize the newly discovered land of America struggled to plant and harvest effectively. The Native Americans allegedly shared their harvest and knowledge of agriculture in the New World with the Pilgrims. To celebrate their alliance and friendship, as well as their survival, they held a feast to commemorate and give thanks.
The true story of the first Thanksgiving is similar, though much contested. It is generally accepted that Pilgrims coming to the New World came a bit too late in the growing season, and thus struggled with the threat of starvation. Luckily for them, a local tribe of Native Americans called the Wampanoag had an abundant harvest, and decided to trade with the Pilgrims. In exchange for food and friendly relations, the Pilgrims would help provide defense against rival tribes. A feast was held to celebrate this union, which we call the first Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Traditions
Thanksgiving is one of the many holidays in the United States that is not directly tied to religious observance. Despite this, it is common for many families from a wide range of religions to offer some kind of prayer of thanks. Even many families who are not religious will usually offer some kind of message of thanks, even if not in the form of a prayer.
Many families have their own Thanksgiving traditions. My family is very religious, and always starts the meal with a prayer. After that, we dish up and allow everyone a moment to get some food on their plate. Once everyone has started eating we go around the table one-by-one and share something we are thankful for. This is a fairly common practice in most American households.
Some families share cooking duties, others have a family game of football in the yard, or watch a football game on TV while they wait for the meal to be prepared. Millions yet tune in to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast from New York City. This parade is the largest in the world. It is filled with floats, balloons, marching bands, dance crews, and more. It is quite the spectacle, and exciting for all ages!
Most of these activities are best suited for older kids and adults, which means the younger children often need something to do. If you need something to keep the kids busy, we at Lalo have created fun Thanksgiving-themed coloring pages for free!
The day after Thanksgiving is often a major day for holiday shopping, with many companies offering special deals online and in-person. This tradition has become such a major part of the celebration that it has earned itself the name “Black Friday.” Deals can be found online, and are widely advertised.
But every family’s most treasured traditions are the food.
The Thanksgiving Meal
Almost every Thanksgiving dinner will have the same basic foods: a turkey, stuffing, rolls, and mashed potatoes with gravy. However, there are a wide range of other common foods, such as macaroni and cheese, candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, stewed greens, cheese balls encrusted in nuts, ham, prime rib or some other kind of beef roast, and charcuterie boards.
Many families also opt to have a dessert course. The most commonly served dessert is pie, primarily pumpkin and/or apple pie. My family also includes my mother’s red velvet cake, a recipe she spent over two decades perfecting.
Some, or even all of these foods may be found at any family’s table, but that does not mean they will be the same. There are hundreds of different recipes for turkeys, stuffings, rolls, jams, sauces, gravies, and much more. While many families keep to the same, traditional dinner every year, some families are always looking to innovate their dinners, and try something brand new.
One of the most common ways of mixing up the traditions is all about the method of cooking the turkey. Some roast their turkey whole in the oven for hours, some break it down into chunks and smoke it, others deep fry their turkeys, and more. It is common for the preparation of the turkey to take several days to make sure it gets cooked properly.
How Lalo Can Help
Many of these recipes are closely guarded family secrets, passed down as an heirloom from one generation to another. Some families will even refuse to share the recipe outside of the family. Sometimes these recipes forget to be passed down, and are lost. My mother only spent twenty years perfecting her red velvet cake recipe because her grandmother never taught anyone else how to make it as well as she did.
Lalo can help preserve your Thanksgiving traditions, recipes, and memories for years to come, and ensure they are shared with all of your loved ones at the same time. So this Thanksgiving, take some extra pictures, think about what you are thankful for, and share them with Lalo.
Thanksgiving FAQs
Q: When is Thanksgiving?
A: In the USA it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of each November, while Canadians celebrate it on the second Monday of October.
Q: How is Canadian Thanksgiving different from American Thanksgiving?
A: First of all, they are celebrated more than a month apart. Canadian Thanksgiving also has an earlier origin, and a slightly different origin story. Canadian Thanksgiving is also less of a major deal. While it is still a popular holiday for many, they do not put on giant parades, or make major shopping days.
Q: Are there any Thanksgiving movies?
A: There are several movies that are set during Thanksgiving, but only a few that are actually about the holiday. Perhaps the most well-known movie is A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973).
Q: What football games can I watch on Thanksgiving 2022?
A: The Bills and the Lions will face off at 12:30pm, then the Giants will play the Cowboys at 4:30pm, and lastly the Patriots and Vikings will kick off at 8:20pm (all Eastern Standard Time). If college football is more interesting for you, Mississippi State and Ole Miss will play at 7pm EST. There will also be four different World Cup games being played for those soccer fans out there!
Q: Where can I find more Thanksgiving fun with Lalo?
A:
