America THANKS on the traditional Thanksgiving

This Thursday is celebrated in the United States thanksgiving (Thanksgiving) in English. The tradition comes from the colonial era and commemorates a meeting between Native Americans and European settlers.

According to tradition, in 1621 a group of English settlers from Plymouth, Massachusetts, shared a meal with the Wampanoag Indians to celebrate the autumn harvest and to thank them for teaching them how to farm and hunt. The settlers of New England already had the tradition of celebrating days of prayer to 'thank' for blessings such as military victories or the end of a drought.

The holiday was kept for two centuries throughout the country, however, the date was different in each state. It was not until October of 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln declared it to be celebrated as a national day on the last Thursday of November. In 1941 Congress turned Thanksgiving into a national holiday.

The National Day of Mourning

For many indigenous people and descendants of the first inhabitants of what is now known as the USA, Thanksgiving is not a date to celebrate.

Each year, hundreds of Native Americans march in Plymouth for the National Day of Mourning, to commemorate their ancestors, as well as the "genocide" of their people and the "theft" of their lands, according to the website of the association of natives Americans of New England.

Colonization reduced the indigenous population in North America from an estimated five to fifteen million to 238,000 people by the end of the 19th century.

Thanksgiving is a holiday for the majority of workers in the United States. According to the American Automobile Association, nearly 50 million Americans travel by land during the holiday. The tradition is to celebrate a dinner with the family, where they give thanks for all the 'blessings' that were received throughout the year.

The main course is turkey, accompanied by cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie, among others.

In New York City, the Christmas parade takes place at Macy's, a large department store, where balloons of cartoon characters such as Snoopy, SpongeBob, and Mickey Mouse stroll the streets of the city. The parade is broadcast on television and has an audience of more than 44 million people.

At the end of the dinner, some families participate in an activity called wishbone breaking, which consists of choosing two people, who must make a wish. Next, they should take the turkey's wishbone, each one on one side, and try to break it. If they succeed, the tradition tells that the desire of the person with the largest piece of bone will be fulfilled.