They take place in different seasons, and depending on their history, they have numerous traditions of celebrating them. It is obvious that every country has holidays that it celebrates each year, and the US is not an exception. For instance, the Macy’s holds a big annual parade in New York on the fourth Thursday of November. The first balloon that can be seen in the air on the event is Felix the cat. If someone picks up the balloon that falls on the ground, he/she can get a prize in Macy’s. The day is called Thanksgiving. The holiday started in the United States a long time ago, and its primary intention was to thank the Indians. Over time, everyone began to say thank you to other individuals on this day. There are a lot of different ways to celebrate the holiday including crazy shopping on the second day of Thanksgiving. Overall, Thanksgiving is an important celebration for the United States that individuals celebrate with their families by coming and dining together and, later, taking part in Black Friday.
As it has been mentioned, in the USA, Thanksgiving is the holiday that takes place on the fourth Thursday of November. It was proclaimed a national holiday when the USA became independent, and since then, it has turned into one of the most significant ones in the country. Moreover, it has spread to other states all over the world; for instance, Canada has a similar celebration in October. At the very beginning, Thanksgiving was a harvest tradition, and it is traceable back to the 17th century (Gioia 6). At the time, when individuals had fair yield, a thanksgiving ceremony was conducted to celebrate the fact. Additionally, the holiday was started with an intention to give thanks to the Native Americans. Since then, families in the United States have continued to celebrate the day. Currently, it is the time of the year when family members from various parts of the world reunite. They get to eat together, pray and take part in numerous activities of the Thanksgiving weekend such as parades and shopping among others.
There are several customs that are followed since the first thanksgiving ceremony. One of the traditions is the food eaten on the day. In particular, each family has to cook turkey for the dinner. In fact, turkey serves as the national symbol of the Thanksgiving. The next custom is that people go to church to offer a prayer in which they give thanks for everything they have got. Moreover, parades and various competitions including sport and drama ones are organized in various towns. It should be said that schools and shops do not work on the day.
Another event that is associated with Thanksgiving Day is Black Friday. It started in the 19th and 20th centuries when the day after Thanksgiving was marked by different parades that were mainly sponsored by the department stores. At present, Black Friday is the day when different shopping center and supply chains offer goods at discounted prices or come up with special offers to entice the public. As a result, shoppers can buy everything they want, and the stores can make profits out of the huge sales that they make. In most cases, people have been observed waiting in lines outside stores before they open, and in some instances, they have been witnessed to rush in mainly to get the products they need before shops run out of stock (Krafft and Mantrala 165). Since many individuals take part in this activity, retailers ensure that they are open for long hours to take advantage of the holiday to the maximum regarding their earnings. For example, some of them work the whole night on Thursday or from 12 a.m. until late, in some cases, as late as 2 a.m. on Saturday (Lamb et al. 762). What is more, news reporters contribute to the huge sales made on this day due to the hefty reporting that they do prior to, during and after the holiday. In fact, the holiday has started spreading in different parts of the world as a part of an initiative by various stores to raise their sales and, consequently, profits. It is crucial to note that during the Thanksgiving weekend, individuals get to stay at home from Thursday to Sunday since different institutions such as Local and State Governments allow their employees not to work on Friday following Thanksgiving Day to partake in Black Friday.
In conclusion, Thanksgiving is an important celebration in the US with several significant traditions. Firstly, families come together on this day even if they live in different parts of the country. It provides them with an opportunity to reunite with relatives they have not seen for ages. Moreover, on Thanksgiving, people go to church to pray and say thank you for all the things they have in their lives. A lot of citizens also get engaged in other activities such as parades and competitions. Furthermore, people get to stay at home for an entire weekend from Thursday till Sunday. It is when the shopping spree begins on Black Friday that provides an opportunity to purchase various goods individuals have wanted to buy for entire year. However, nowadays, Thanksgiving is celebrated not only by Americans. The holiday has also been taken up by other countries as a way to demonstrate the joy of living a positive life.
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