Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the US and Canada, marked on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States. From this day begins the festive season, which includes Christmas and continues until the New Year. The most common view of its origin is that it was to give thanks to God for the bounty of the autumn harvest.

Traditional Celebration Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated with a feast shared amongst family and friends. In the United States, it is an important family holiday, and people often travel across the country to be with family members for the holiday. The Thanksgiving holiday is generally a "four-day" weekend in the United States. Thanksgiving is almost entirely celebrated at home, unlike the Fourth of July or Christmas, which are associated with a variety of shared public experiences (fireworks, caroling, etc.)

Thanksgiving Dinner The centerpiece of the contemporary American Thanksgiving is a large dinner (a.k.a. supper), starring a large roasted turkey. Because turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, thanksgiving is sometimes called 'Turkey Day'.

Turkey and the president Thanksgiving is celebrated not only by ordinary people. An interesting tradition has arisen since the reign of Harry Truman. Every year the president chooses one of the two turkeys to choose from. One of the birds goes to the presidential kitchen to decorate the festive table in the White House. And the second bird as a result of the solemn ceremony receives a "pardon" and goes to live out his age on a special farm. Pardoned turkey will never again fall on the table to people, it will live on the farm until her natural death.

Every year, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated with a grand parade that takes place in New York. The beginning of this interesting tradition was laid in Four years later, inflatable figures depicting fairy-tale heroes or animals began to be launched at the parade.