Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada, traditionally celebrated with a large meal to give thanks for the year's harvest and blessings.
The American holiday is traditionally traced to a 1621 harvest celebration shared between Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag people, though the holiday's modern form and mythology were shaped significantly by 19th-century writers and, historically, obscure important context about Indigenous displacement.
President Abraham Lincoln formally established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War, as a day of national unity and gratitude, and it has been observed on the fourth Thursday of November since 1941.
Modern Thanksgiving celebrations typically center on a large family meal featuring turkey and traditional side dishes, alongside traditions including parades and, more recently, the start of the holiday shopping season.