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A reason to give thanks
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is sometimes called American Thanksgiving (outside the United States) to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name. It originated as a day of giving thanks and as a harvest festival, with the theme of the holiday revolving around giving thanks for what was gained or experienced throughout the year and the centerpiece of its celebrations is still the dinner, which is usually shared with family and friends.
The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed or sweet), squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is regarded as the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season, with the day following it, Black Friday, being the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States.
New England and Virginia colonists originally celebrated days of fasting, as well as days of thanksgiving, thanking God for blessings such as harvests, ship landings, military victories, or the end of a drought. These were observed through church services, accompanied with feasts and other communal gatherings. The event that Americans commonly call the “first Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621. This feast lasted three days and was attended by 90 Native American people and 53 survivors of the Mayflower.
On October 6, 1941, both houses of the United States Congress passed a joint resolution fixing the traditional last-Thursday date for the holiday – beginning in 1942. However, in December of that year, the Senate passed an amendment to the resolution that split the difference by requiring that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, in order to prevent confusion on the occasional years in which November has five Thursdays.
Glossary:
a harvest: un raccolto;
mashed: (da: mashed potatoes): purè di patate;
a squash: un tipo di zucca americana più piccola e di solito a forma di pera;
a green bean: un fagiolino;
a cranberry: un mirtillo rosso;
fasting: digiuno;
a blessing:una benedizione;
a drought: un periodo di siccità;
a gathering: un assemblea;
a Pilgrim: un padre pellegrino che si trasferì in America dall’Inghilterra;
The Mayflower: nome della nave che trasportò i padri pellegrini fino in America;
fixing: (da: to fix) un verbo che in questo contesto vuol dire: fissare, stabilire;
split the difference: risolvere le divergenze;
observed: (da: to observe) un verbo che in questo contesto vuol dire: osservare, rispettare, celebrare.
A History of Thanksgiving
