Thanksgiving

November 26, 2009

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Profile America — Thursday, November 26th. Today is Thanksgiving Day, one of the most traditional of American holidays. Across the nation, family and friends are gathering to give thanks for their blessings, perhaps watch a football game and share a special meal. That meal is usually turkey with dressing, sweet potatoes, cranberries and an assortment of freshly baked pies. The celebration goes back to 1621, when pilgrims from Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts sat down with American Indians to share a meal after the harvest. The holiday became national in scope in 1863, and the fourth Thursday in November has been the official day since 1941. Now in the U.S., the food for a population of over 300 million people is produced by just over 2 million farms. The men and women of the U.S. Census Bureau wish you and your loved ones a peaceful Thanksgiving.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 566
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 793
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html