Lots of food, football games, parades and plenty of time to spend with the people you cherish most in your life. These things are all inescapable parts of Thanksgiving day. But who would want to escape from them anyway?
The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested "thanksgiving" celebration in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.
If you haven't logged into orkut yet today, make sure you do so that you can check out our special Thanksgiving doodle in action:
Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends. It's known as Turkey Day!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
