Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.

In 1620, the settlers, or pilgrims, sailed to America on the Mayflower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November, what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.

During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the first spring.

All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety, knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the lord be fixed. Years later, president of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today.

The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.

Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives, it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird. Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year’ s bounty and reverently ask for continued.

Thanksgiving is a special day to give thanks for the good things in our lives, and celebrating Thanksgiving can be done in many different ways and forms.For those with family, it’s typical to plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with your loved ones.To plan this, you can get together with your family members beforehand or make some phone calls if you live far away, and plan where you will be celebrating Thanksgiving and at what time.Typically, the person with the largest home does the hosting while the other family members bring dishes to go along with the meal.Some families choose to celebrate Thanksgiving at a different family member’s home each year.Once you’ve decided whose house you’ll be headed to, determine what time you want to plan your meal, and what dishes you’ll be able to bring. This is the same way for larger and smaller families.

If you’re not close to family or live far away and are not able to get together, getting together with close friends or co-workers may be the way you’ve chosen to celebrate Thanksgiving.Whether it’s a large group of friends, or a small Thanksgiving dinner party, choosing to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends can be a stress-free way to spend your day.Many people are as close to their friends as their family, and you can spend the day laughing and talking or catching a football game on TV.Before Thanksgiving, meet together with friends and choose whose house you’ll be dining at and decide what they would like you to bring. If you choose to do it at your own home, lay out a menu of what foods you would like to make, and give your friends a few choices for them to bring.There is always the traditional Thanksgiving menu of a turkey, mashed potatoes or stuffing, and a vegetable or you can choose to do something exotic.During this season there are many different cooking shows that display different Thanksgiving menus for you to choose from.You can also look online for different, tasty recipes.

Lastly, while there are many people around the world who have more than enough, there are more and more people who are in need.Consider spending your Thanksgiving or at least part of it at a local food shelter dishing out food to the needy or going to a nursing home to spend time with an elderly person who is all alone.This is truly the perfect way to realize just how much you have to be thankful for.