Thanksgiving is just around the corner, making the beginning of the holiday season in the United States. On the fourth Thursday of November, US citizens gather together to eat turkey, pumpkin pie and celebrate everything American – traditions that have been adopted across the Atlantic by Brits. But where did Thanksgiving come from?

When is Thanksgiving, and how did it originate?




An estimated 46 million turkeys are eaten annually for Thanksgiving in the US Getty



What happens on Thanksgiving?

The most popular Thanksgiving food is turkey, which is often the centrepiece of a Thanksgiving meal. Americans consume millions of turkeys every year at Thanksgiving, largely attributed to the history of the first Thanksgiving, when Governor Bradford's description of the pilgrims' first autumn in Plymouth stated: "There was a great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc." Traditional foods also include stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes and cornbread.

A turkey float is guided through the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Yana Paskova/Getty Images

Every year, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade takes centre-stage in New York City, with enormous balloons, a pageant of floats and marching bands. The tradition started in 1924, when many employees at Macy's department store were first-generation immigrants and wanted to celebrate their new American holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festivals celebrated in Europe. The staff dressed in costumes and travelled with Central Park Zoo animals and creative floats for six miles, from Herald Square to Harlem in Manhattan.