How To Celebrate This Year’s Thanksgiving Day

The Annual Thanksgiving Holiday is celebrated in different dates in countries like the US, Saint Lucia, Canada, etc. Every year, the United States Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November which will be dated on November 24 this year.

The history of this national Thanksgiving Day started as a celebration of good harvest season. The recorded year of the first celebration was in 1621 at Plymouth which is now known as Massachusetts. The story went when the people of Plymouth lost their colonists in 1620. With the help of the indigenous people in Wampanoag, they have been knowledgeable about taking care of their crops and survival during the winter season. During the summer of 1621, they have been astounded by the bountiful harvest to which they organized an event that lasted for three days.

In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer. And in 1863, the acting president at that time, President Lincoln has announced a thanksgiving observance on the final Thursday in November. Up to this present day, thanksgiving is celebrated through different reasons and purposes.

How do we celebrate Thanksgiving Day?

The tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving Day is generally about having a meal with your family or loved ones. The sumptuous meal is commonly served with Turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and root crops like potatoes. Most families also watch the traditional Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Today, Thanksgiving Day is commemorated to thank the Almighty God for all the blessings received throughout the year. Not only during the harvest season, but for every good thing that has happened.

How do I make Thanksgiving special this year?

Thanksgiving Day is one of the most awaited holidays every year, to make it extra special, here are some of the activities and ideas for this year’s Thanksgiving Day:

1. List the things you want to thank the Almighty God

From history itself, the Thanksgiving Day is a religious observance to which people give thanks to the Great and Glorious Being- God. The first you might want to do is to list down all the blessings you received throughout the year. May it be an answered prayer in your physical, mental, emotional, or financial aspects, do not forget to give or utter words of gratefulness to Almighty God. List a minimum of 15 things that you are thankful for, by doing that, you will become more aware how God’s abundant blessings are overflowing even in the smallest things. Jotting down the list will also let you focus on the areas where God has allowed His hand to show His grace, mercy, provision, and love. To make it more heartwarming and joyous, everyone should read and share the list while enjoying the thanksgiving meal.

2. Gift Giving

Giving gifts is one way of giving back what you have received. It is like sharing what you had and letting them experience how to have grateful hearts. There is a joyful feeling when you see the excitement and priceless expression of the receiver. It is also a way to tell them that you appreciate them, and they are one of the reasons you are thankful of. But giving gifts will not be always about the material things. It can be in any way that a person will find special. It could be your time, presence, or effort.

3. Pie Making Contest

Making pies after the thanksgiving meal is a tradition. It is served as a dessert which is commonly made from pumpkins. Because pies are already part of the holiday tradition, a great way to have a bonding time with the family is to make pies out of their chosen ingredients. The eldest member of the family will be the one to judge who made the best pie.

4. Passing on Special Moments with Each Other

Thanksgiving Day is like a reunion where all the family members are present from children to adults. This activity will boost a healthy relationship with each other and is like a getting to know the sides they never heard before. The elders can share their special memories and thanksgiving story they had while growing up, like how they celebrated their clear memory of their first thanksgiving celebrations or simply the memorable experiences they had.

5. Make a Scrapbook to look back on

Having a scrapbook will let you refresh the memories even in the future years to come. On it, you can write the names of your family members and see how your family grows each year. You can also attach pictures of the thanksgiving traditions like the thanksgiving themes, dishes and meal preparations, guests, and even the recipes that your family specializes.

6. List the requests for next year’s thanksgiving

Now that you have a list of the things you have been thankful for, you should also make a list of the things that you want to receive, and you are praying for. By doing this, you can keep it until the next thanksgiving celebration and take a look on how many of your requests have happened and fulfilled.

7. Watch the Thanksgiving Day parade

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is hosted by Macy’s department store. The first parade was in 1924 and people enjoyed watching the grand parade. The first thanksgiving parade included enormous animals like elephants and others from the Central Park Zoo. Later on, they have shifted to an animal-friendly event where they replaced them with giant floats. For people who cannot physically join the annual celebrated thanksgiving, do not worry! The parade is always televised.

8. Be innovative with the traditional dishes

The dishes served in thanksgiving dinners have been a part of the tradition and it should not be taken away from the menu. Nevertheless, you can always make something more special from the typical raw products. For example, the typical potatoes can be made into a delicious, mashed potatoes which can be enjoyed by kids and young at heart. Another menu that is commonly served is Turkey. You can stuff the Turkey with ingredients like cranberry, onion, and celery before roasting it.

9. Enjoy the Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Along with the National Thanksgiving Day, two of the most awaited holidays are this before Christmas shopping season. Black Friday was originated because it is a great way for vendors to lure customers into buying in their physical stores after people took a day off for the Thanksgiving celebration. While Cyber Monday is a continuation of sale virtually as a victory celebration where they assist customers who queued in Black Friday.

10. Have a thorough Reflection

With all the suggested special activities, the most important thing to do is to have a personal reflection. Think about how things have been so rough, yet you have overcome it. Here you are today, celebrating small and big wins. Take a moment with humble penitence, look around you, and see how much you value the things you have now. You can always be reminded of the grateful feeling by listening to a motivational speech, reading Psalms or other texts from the Bible, rewatching the proclamation of President George Washington, or simply scanning through a poem/message of thanksgiving.

Celebrating Thanksgiving Day with Brittany

Surely there a rea lot to be thankful for. A roof on top of your heads, the meals, and everything else that you have. It is all about the gratitude of your hearts. With Brittany, you can live a life full of thanksgiving. The amenities, the community, and the services- these are all one of a kind in buying a property.

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