A copious feast of Thanks

The warm and heady smell of food beckons family members and loved ones alike to gather round the dinner table to commemorate a day of cheers, reflection, and giving thanks.

Celebrated this year on November 22, Thanksgiving Day marks the beginning of the holiday season in the United States.

Although well-known in the West as America's most family-oriented occasion, the event has also gained traction as a major holiday among expatriate communities worldwide.

History of Thanksgiving

In the US, Thanksgiving is the national holiday that celebrates the first harvest of the immigrants from Europe who bravely settled in the New World.

These immigrants, called Pilgrims, broke bread with Native Americans to give thanks to the locals for helping them secure resources to brace for the upcoming winter.

The Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving in 1621 lasted three days, which resembled more like a traditional English harvest feast rather than a "day of Thanksgiving."

Over 150 years after the first Thanksgiving, America's first president, George Washington, proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to be held on November 26, 1789.

This first Presidential Proclamation was based on a Joint Resolution of both houses of Congress, which requested him to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday.

Culinary Hearth

On a day which unites family members across the country together, colleges empty and streets remain eerily silent as warmth centers in the hearth of home.

For those who are without families, community kitchens provide the venue for conversations and camaraderie amidst a most epic feast.

The traditional American Thanksgiving meal - a cornucopia of mashed potato and gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn, cornbreads, hot cider, and pumpkin pies - invariably centers on the most delectable bird for this occasion, the Thanksgiving turkey.

After gorging oneself silly on this "bountiful harvest," one retreats to a comfortable corner to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, or a selection of American football matches, on television, or simply doze off to a delightful nap.

The day before Thanksgiving is known as one of the busiest day for air travel in the US; the day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Impressions from afar "Thanksgiving Day in America is quite comparable to the Tet holiday in Vietnam - it is one of the most important and cheerful holidays in America, when all family members gather for a huge meal and to watch football," said Tim Barc, an English teacher and renowned movie actor in Vietnamese cinema.

"I have tried turkey meat in Ho Chi Minh City a few years ago but it's quite incomparable to the delicious turkey in the US," added Tim.

"Thanksgiving is organized on a smaller scale in Canada but we appreciate the chance for family and friends to reunite and share all the joys. Canadian Thanksgiving, however, is unique in that it is celebrated in October," said Jennifer Graham, a Canadian editor with Thanh Nien Daily in Ho Chi Minh City.

If you can't make the trans-national trek to your family this Thanksgiving, there are other local options ranging from the annual AmCham Thanksgiving "Turkey Shoot" Golf Outing followed by a traditional Thanksgiving mid-day dinner, to the many Thanksgiving dinners offered by restaurants in HCMC.

Source ThanhnienNews