Families who are searching for the best Thanksgiving Day traditions should consider both tried and true traditions, as well as new and unique family traditions. Traditions can help families have a memorable and lasting Thanksgiving holiday.
A Small Thanksgiving Gift
Special gifts do not need to be held for the Christmas holiday. Instead, families can make it a tradition to give a small Thanksgiving gift every year. The gift should be a small token gift to show someone how much he or she is loved. In addition, each family member can take the opportunity to write a letter to another family member that contains a list of things that he or she is grateful for.
Families can also give a larger, more meaningful gift to others by volunteering at a local homeless shelter or food bank. Taking the time out of holiday celebrations to serve a meal to others is a rewarding experience that can teach both adults and children the value of serving others.
Thanksgiving Day Parade
Every Thanksgiving there are several parades that can be attended by families. These parades are typically viewed via a television broadcast, but can also be attended in person. Thanksgiving Day parades have been a tradition in many homes throughout the years. Families wishing to make a Thanksgiving Day parade part of their holiday tradition should find out broadcasting times for specific parades across the U.S.
Thanksgiving Holiday Dinner
Each Thanksgiving families gather for a holiday dinner. This in itself is a special holiday tradition. However, families can go further by serving specific foods at their Thanksgiving holiday dinner. Parents can also make a special tradition by incorporating a special prayer or scripture before the meal. Family members can also take turns giving thanks for their blessings. Younger children may need to be coaxed into this practice by placing a few pieces of candy on their dinner setting. For each piece of candy, the recipient must say one thing they are grateful for.
Thanksgiving Day Football
Sports fanatics can create a special Thanksgiving Day tradition by playing live casinos football with their family while waiting for dinner. Each Thanksgiving, football games are aired on television and families can also take the opportunity to catch up on the game after a heavy meal. Whether watching or playing, football is a great way to enjoy the outdoors before it gets too cold outdoors to enjoy sports.
Creating Thanksgiving Day traditions is a good way for families to spend time doing meaningful holiday activities. On Thanksgiving Day, families can follow fun traditions like watching a Thanksgiving Day parade, eating a holiday dinner, or playing football. Whether giving gifts or playing football as a family, traditions on Thanksgiving Day bring families together.
Thanksgiving Around the World
Celebrating Thanksgiving with stuffed turkey and pumpkin pie may be uniquely American. It is not the same in other countries. From ancient Egypt to medieval Europe and modern-day China, festivals of thanksgiving have been a part of many different cultures.
Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians gave thanks for their bounty in April, during the season of the grain harvest. It honored Min, the god of fertility, and was celebrated with a procession to Min’s temple in which the Pharaoh took part, plus singing, dancing and feasting.
Ancient Greece
Thesmophoria was the Greek harvest festival. It was held in autumn in honor of Demeter, goddess of corn. On the first day of the three-day festival, women built shelters of leafy branches to invite Demeter to visit. On the second day the Greeks fasted. The third day brought feasting and offerings to Demeter. The Greeks also held thanksgiving ceremonies for special favors, such as victory in battle.
Romans
The ancient Romans gave thanks to Ceres, goddess of cereal crops, at the harvest festival of Cerelia, which included games in the Roman sports arena. A second harvest festival Consualia was celebrated with horse and chariot races on August 21 to honor Consus, god of the grain harvest.
Chinese
For thousands of years the Chinese have celebrated Chung Ch’ui at the time of the autumn moon in the eighth month of the Chinese calendar. Moon cakes are a traditional part of their celebration feast, along the first fruits of the harvest. Legend holds that moon cakes originated during a time when the Mongols had invaded China. To organize a surprise attack against the invaders, Chinese villagers cooked messages into moon cakes and distributed them around the village.
Jewish Tradition
Since ancient times, Jewish people have celebrated the thanksgiving harvest festival of Sukkot, also known as Feast of the Tabernacles and Feast of the Ingathering. The eight-day festival also commemorates the 40 years the Jews spent with Moses wandering in the desert before arriving at the Promised Land. During their wanderings, they sheltered in temporary huts called sukkah, built to resemble their traditional tabernacles. Many Jews celebrate the festival by building huts of branches and hanging apples, grapes and other fruits inside.
Western Europe
Since Medieval times, harvest festivals of thanks have been celebrated in Europe. In the English festival of Harvest Home, the last wagon-load of grain to be brought in was decorated with ribbons and flowers. Villagers would dance around the wagon singing songs of thanks. A feast was held once all the grain was stored.
North America
Native Americans have long offered thanks to the creator and to the spirits of the animals they used for food. The Wampanoags, who feasted with the Pilgrims in their historic 1621 Thanksgiving, had traditionally celebrated their own harvest festival of Nickommo with gifts , feasting, dancing and games.
When immigrants first began arriving on the North American continent in the 1500s, they held their own thanksgiving feasts. History records several festivals celebrated by Spanish explorers and colonists and a small group of French Huguenots during those years.
Members of the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, held a thanksgiving feast 1610. The feast was celebrated after a shipload of supplies arrived, ending the famine of their first winter.
