Do You Know Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, with its roots in a celebration of the agricultural harvest.

1.When is Thanksgiving Day?

Fourth Thursday of November. In the US, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of November. This year, it falls on Thursday, November 23.

The date was set in stone by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and approved by Congress in 1941.

International celebration. Thanksgiving is also celebrated in Canada, Grenada, the Philippines, Saint Lucia, Liberia and the Netherlands. But canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. 

2.Why it is called Thanksgiving? 

Blessing of the harvest. It began as a day where people took the opportunity of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.

In the US, the celebration is often recognised as an event that took place when English colonists held a feast to thank Native Americans for helping them start new lives in the US.

Before Thanksgiving Day, the only national holidays celebrated in the US were Washington's Birthday and Independence Day.

3.Why is it celebrated with turkey?

Hamilton's turkey. The use of the turkey in the US for Thanksgiving precedes Lincoln's nationalisation of the holiday in 1863. In the 19th century, founding fatherAlexander Hamilton proclaimed that no "Citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day."

Some give credit to Hale, whose accounts emphasised a roast turkey and eventually became the model for the festivities.

Others believe the birds are large enough that they can feed many people, and they don't serve a purpose like laying eggs or making milk.

More than 50 million turkeys are served up in the US every year for Thanksgiving.