Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in United States on the fourth Thursday of November with lot of fervor and merry-making. The custom of celebrating Thanksgiving, an annual celebration held after the harvest began around 1621 when the Pilgrims fulfilled a successful and bountiful harvest in the New Land. The celebration was based on harvest traditions that the colonists brought with them from England.

The first Thanksgiving Proclamation was made in 1675. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated with a feast shared among friends and family. It is an important holiday and is generally celebrate a "four-day" weekend in the United States; Thursday and Friday off. Thanksgiving is almost entirely celebrated at home.

American families get together to watch football and eat a big feast with turkey and grandma's apple pie. Turkey, corn (or maize), pumpkins and cranberry sauce are symbols which represent the first Thanksgiving. Now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards. Sweet-sour cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly, was on the first Thanksgiving table and is still served.

Thanks giving Day is also called turkey day, because turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanks giving dinner. Thanksgiving Day is also called T-Day, Macy's Day and Yanks day.

On Thanksgiving Day loved ones get together and show thankfulness for being together and for all that they have. Sending gifts and greetings cards to friends and relatives is also an important part of the celebration. Popular gifts include thanksgiving flowers, jewelry, baked cookie hampers, chocolate gift baskets, candy-wreaths, wine etc.

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