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The answer: most Americans travel to their family homes, eat turkey and go shopping on Thanksgiving, which is on Thursday, November 23 this year.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday (= all schools and banks are closed) which most Americans turn into a long weekend. Many people and all school children have Friday after Thanksgiving off (= they do not have to go to school or work), so they often travel to spend the four days with their families.
In fact, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day in American airports, according to Nerdwallet (November 1, 2023). They expect nearly 3 million passengers to fly that day alone.
If you are a tourist, Thanksgiving is not a great day to travel on, because of the crowds at airports, train stations, bus terminals and the traffic jams on the roads. Nor is it a good opportunity to watch Americans going about their usual business in cities, because they often spend the day with their families in their homes. So book a trip instead on Halloween or after Thanksgiving.
In most American homes, turkey, which is usually slow roasted in an oven for many hours, will be eaten on Thanksgiving. It is a very large bird, eaten usually only once or twice a year. This is due to the effort of making a turkey. It is poultry (= edible birds) which dries out easily, so the cook needs to carefully baste (= cooking while coating it with its own juices) the bird frequently. It is an original 'slow' food and most Americans only have time for such meals when they have time off.
Most families eat turkey with gravy (= a hearty sauce made from the meat drippings), mashed potatoes (= boiled, then crushed potatoes mixed with butter and milk), sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie (= a baked dessert with a crust and a filling), green beans, stuffing (= bread, onions, and other things put inside the turkey before it is baked), cranberry sauce (= small, red berries), another vegetable and salad(s), and whatever else the family tradition includes. In my family we also like to eat warm soft rolls with butter.
Thanksgiving is a quiet, family-centered and very delicious day, but what do the Americans do after eating and recovering from their big meal? Shop, of course! Black Friday starts usually very early on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving. People line up in front of stores and malls waiting for their doors to open so they can get discounted prices on things they will buy for Christmas. The big sale day is called 'black' because companies which make money are said to 'be in the black'. That means their income is not 'in the red' or in negative numbers.
I don't like crowds, so I never go shopping on Thanksgiving weekend! But my family and I play board games, watch movies together (with popcorn, of course) and spend time together. It is a relaxed and rejuvenating time for me.
Thanksgiving traditions are uniquely North American. I am from the United States, but Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving. Their Thanksgiving was in October. The history of Thanksgiving goes back to the pilgrims (= foreigners who make a long journey, but in this case it means mainly white, European people who immigrated to North America in the 1600's) and their first 3-day feast they ate with Indians who helped them survive the difficult conditions in the newly discovered land. Of course American history took a turn away from pilgrims eating next to Indians and changed into white settlers pushing Indians off of their land, but for this first feast, things were peaceful, thankfully.
You might ask, 'Why is this holiday called Thanksgiving?'. The name of the day is what we should be doing, giving thanks. The pilgrims were thankful to the Indians and for having survived their early days in North America and we are thankful even today. In many families we share what we are thankful for during our Thanksgiving meal.
What I am thankful for? For the opportunity to share my culture and our traditions with you here on Cafetalk! I would also be thankful for the chance to give you an English lesson soon.
Whether we meet here or not, I hope you have a great November and when you shop (on Black Friday?), travel during a busy season, eat any of the food we prepare for Thanksgiving, or feel thankful, remember how we are all connected in this small and beautiful world we share!
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