National Cuisine

On Thanksgiving Day many Americans get together with their families, celebrate and eat a lot. The star of this dinner is roast turkey. Many families also add traditional side dishes, such as mashed potatoes. Almost all families have pumpkin pie for dessert.

With so many dishes to be prepared, most family members help out in the kitchen. To prepare a turkey, they stuff it with a bread mix and then roast it. After the turkey is cooked, it is served at the table and family members eat it together.

Turkey stuffing often consists of breadcrumbs, onion, celery, spices, and herbs.

Many companies prepare a free meal for poor people in their towns and cities. In New York one project sends food to more than thirty-five thousand people.

Thanksgiving Day in the USA is a day when many people are thankful for their families, friends and tasty food. And what are you thankful for?

Some Interesting Facts About the Day

  • This holiday is called Thanksgiving because on this day gratitude is expressed and thanks are given for a good year and good fortune.
  • Thanksgiving is important because it is one of the few holidays when all the family members come together. Celebrating this day together strengthens family relationships and provides an opportunity for family members to join.
  • Each year a live turkey is presented to the President of the United States who then “pardons” the turkey and it gets to live out its life on a farm.
  • Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird instead of the bald eagle.
  • Around 88 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
  • Minnesota is the top-turkey producing state in the United States with a total production of more than 45 million.
  • At the first celebration of giving thanks, people ate using knives, spoons and their fingers. They did not use forks because they were not invented.
  • One popular Thanksgiving tradition is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.  The parade first began in 1924.  400 Macy’s employees marched in the parade along with the animals from the Central Park Zoo.  There were no giant balloons.  Today thousands of people take part in Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
  • The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It is the biggest shopping day of the year.