Thanksgivng Day is a typical American holiday. It is an annuaal day of thanks for the blessings people have enjoyed during the year. The theme of thanksgiving has always been peace and plenty, healthy and happiness.

It is historical, national and religious holiday that began with the Pilgrims. The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated by the english settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts on December 13, 1621. The settlers or Pilgrims had come to America in the previous year. In their native land, they were called "Puritans" because they wanted to "Purify" the Church of England. They were persecuted. So in September, 1620, they began to sail to the New World on the ship called Mayflower with 102 people. After 66 days at sea, they landed at what is now Plymouth in the icy season. The first winter was terrible, and only half of them survived.

The next year, the native Indians became their friends and showed them how to plant corn and grow other things for food. The Pilgrims reaped a good harvest in the fall. Thus they invited Indians to have a big feast outdoors at long tables to thank God for his love and mercy. They ate, drank, and played games for three days.

After that, Thanksgiving Days were celebrated irregularly. In 1941, the Congress declared the fourth Thursday in November to be a national day.

Today the Americans usually hold a big family dinner to celebrate the holiday, which often lasts four days. They have such traditional food as roast, turkey, pumpkin,pie, apples, cranberry sauce, squash and so on. They relax and enjoy family reunion. A traditional Thanksgiving dinner also takes place yearly at white House. In odder to attract more customers to buy their goods, the Macy's Department Store has pun on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every November since 1924. At the same time, American football games are also played everywhere. Millions of people watch the parade and the game on television.

In some areas, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year-- the first day of Christmas gift shopping. Big markets, department stores and shops make various advertisements to attract customers. The shopping is on all day long. Street lights and store windows are decoratd with the traditional Christmas colours of red and green.