TURKEYS, TOUCHDOWNS, AND SHOPPING FRENZY by Ellen Butler

It’s November and now that spooky season has passed we are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving at the end of the month. This holiday brings families and friends together for a day of food, football, and gratitude. Although Thanksgiving is associated with the 1621 harvest celebration shared by English colonists and the Wampanoag tribe at Plymouth, the event looked quite different from today's festivities. The gathering lasted three days and celebrated a successful harvest. Thanksgiving became an annual national holiday in 1863 under Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War. Lincoln designated the final Thursday in November as a national day of giving thanks. In 1941, Congress established the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without the food. Turkey takes center stage on most American dinner tables, accompanied by stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pie. American producers raise hundreds of millions of birds annually to meet holiday demand. While roasting remains the traditional cooking method, deep-frying a turkey has become increasingly popular. Deep-frying produces crispy skin and juicy meat in less time than roasting. However, take warning: putting a frozen or partially frozen turkey into hot oil can cause a dangerous overflow and fire.

For football fans, Thanksgiving means more than passing the gravy. Professional football has been part of the holiday tradition for generations. The Detroit Lions began hosting Thanksgiving Day games in 1934. The Dallas Cowboys joined the Thanksgiving lineup in 1966, creating another annual tradition. Today, NFL Thanksgiving games attract millions of viewers who gather around televisions after dinner or during the preparations, making football as much a part of Thanksgiving as turkey and pumpkin pie.

Following the tryptophan induced coma of Thanksgiving, comes Black Friday, the unofficial kickoff to the frenzied Christmas shopping season. The term originated in Philadelphia during the 1950s and 1960s, when police used it to describe the crowds and general chaos that descended on the city following Thanksgiving. Retailers eventually embraced the phrase promoting the idea that Black Friday was the day businesses moved from operating in the red to turning a profit, or going into the black. Traditionally, shoppers lined up outside department stores in the early morning hours hoping to snag discounted TVs, toys, and other holiday gifts. However, online shopping changed the landscape. Cyber Monday, free shipping, and early online promotions allow consumers to hunt for bargains without leaving home. Nevertheless, Black Friday remains a major shopping event in stores and online.

Whether you're enjoying a second helping of pumpkin pie, cheering on your favorite football team, or hunting for a Black Friday bargain, Thanksgiving is a reminder that some traditions are best enjoyed with food, friends and family, and plenty of gratitude.