Thanksgiving: Turkey, Football and much more

As much as American TV shows and movies like to project it like that, Thanksgiving isn't about just Turkey and football. Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, Thanksgiving actually began as a tradition of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and the happy completion of the preceding year.

While both native Americans and Europeans have celebrated the end of the harvest season with festivities for several centuries, the Thanksgiving holiday, as we know it today, is generally marked by an informal gathering of friends and families. The origin of Turkey Day celebrations took place in Plymouth Colony, present-day Massachusetts in 1621.

Thanksgiving Timeline

1621: In November 1621, 53 pilgrims gathered in Plymouth for a mass celebration of their first harvest in the New World and invited 90 members belonging to the Wampanoag native Americans to feast with them. The feast, which lasted for three days, was the first instance of a Thanksgiving gathering in America.

1789: President George Washington called for a public day of thanks, which became a tradition in many communities, thus beginning the tradition in many communities.

1863: The then-president Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of giving thanks, officially making the tradition an annual holiday.

1924: Macy's department store hosted its first Thanksgiving Day parade that included floats, marching bands, and balloons, through the streets of New York City. The first Macy's Thanksgiving parade, which drew a crowd of over a quarter-million people, became an annual tradition so popular, that NBC began televising it in 1952.

1934: Thanksgiving and football began to go hand-in-hand since the classic holiday match, wherein Detroit Lions lost to the Chicago Bears (19-16).

1939: Marking the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt shifted the Thanksgiving holiday from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday of the month, so that the holiday shopping season in the year could be extended; considering November had five Thursdays that year.
1941: The Congress officials made the fourth Thursday of November the official Thanksgiving holiday nationally.

1947: The tradition of the US president sparing a Thanksgiving turkey began. However, there is an opposing story that it may have begun much earlier when President Abraham Lincoln saved his son's pet turkey.

1989: The tradition of "presidential turkey pardon" begins when George H.W. Bush uttered "pardon" referring to two turkeys during an official ceremony.

2014: Thanksgiving 2014 will see families and friends upholding the longstanding tradition of giving thanks, devouring roasted turkey and munching on the side dishes.

Caramel Salted pie

This super easy caramel lovers' dream pie is from Los Angeles. The filling is sweetened condensed milk sprinkled lightly with sea salt and baked until thick and gooey, then chilled in a simple graham cracker crust.

Let’s learn how to make salted caramel pie for thanksgiving.

How to Make Quick Salted Caramel Pie:

1. Mix the first three ingredients and flatten them into your serving dish. There, that's your super-fast crust done. Cover and keep in the fridge while you work on your filling.
2. Now, for the salted caramel. Pour in 1/3 cup of water into a saucepan, bring to the boil and add in the sugar, stirring gently until it melts and starts bubbling. Carefully pour in the butter, and whisk until everything is fully mixed.
3. Add the cream in and mix thoroughly. Add the salt, and you're done! Now let the mixture cool.
4. Mix in the cream cheese, brown sugar and cream thoroughly, until they make a thick creamy paste.
5. Add in your cooled caramel mixture, mixing well, pour into your crust and refrigerate overnight, at least 12-14 hours.
6. Your pie would be set and ready to eat the next day.

Happy Thanksgiving to all !!