When is Thanksgiving 2016? What is it and why do Americans celebrate Turkey Day?

Nearly 400 years ago, a group of Native Americans and English pilgrims gathered together to give thanks. But today, Thanksgiving is all about socialising and sport - and an American author and her English daughter explain why 
Jenny Marc23 November 2016

We all know that Thanksgiving revolves around three words – family, food, and football (the US version, that is). But how many of us actually know the story behind the annual American celebration?

The US is set to embrace the holiday this week, but it might not exist at all had it not been for a group of English separatists who decided to set sail for the New World.

“If it weren’t for the harvest home tradition from England, maybe it wouldn’t have occurred to the pilgrims to celebrate the first Thanksgiving,” explains American author Erin Moore. “So I think Thanksgiving owes quite a bit to an English tradition.”

Moore, who recently wrote a book exploring the cultural differences between Brits and Americans, explains how and why Thanksgiving came to be with a little help from her five-year-old daughter, Anne.

Although the holiday is certainly more well-known in the US, she says that it hasn’t been completely overlooked in other countries across the world.

“One of the nicest things I’ve found since I moved to London is that Thanksgiving is actually a really active holiday here,” she says.

“Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July are the two most homesick days for most Americans here… it can be a really difficult time. But what makes it a bit easier is when your English friends come together to celebrate one of your favourite holidays with you.”

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