Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of Christian origin and a worldwide known holiday. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada to give thanks for the blessings received during the year, bringing families together to prepare and enjoy a hearty dinner with turkey as the star and main course.
When is Thanksgiving Day?
Thanksgiving Day is a variable date, as it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving Day will be celebrated on November 27, 2025, in the United States.
Thanksgiving Day in Canada is on October 13, which falls on the second Monday of the month.
What does Thanksgiving mean?
Thanksgiving is a holiday of Christian origin native to the United States and Canada, dedicated to giving thanks for the harvest. This tradition has continued to this day. It focuses on giving thanks to God for all the blessings received throughout the year, gathering family and friends to share a feast. The typical dish is roasted or oven-baked turkey.
Since when has Thanksgiving been celebrated?
In North America, Thanksgiving dates back to the time of the Protestant Reformation and the arrival of the first settlers from England to the United States.
According to historical data, it originated in Plymouth (present-day Massachusetts), as a sign of gratitude from the settlers to the natives of the Wampanoag tribe, who taught them the techniques of corn farming, hunting, and fishing. This allowed the colonist community to prosper after a time of famine and disease.
In England, during the Anglican Reformation, religious festivals corresponding to the Catholic calendar were observed. Later reforms reduced the number of Church festivals, replacing them with fasting or days of thanksgiving.
The origins of Thanksgiving in Canada date back to the early 17th century in New France, when people celebrated the end of the harvest season and shared their food with the region's Aboriginal people. This custom became a tradition with the arrival of European immigrants to Canada, including Irish, Scottish, and German people.
Today, it's a celebration practiced primarily in North America and Canada. It has spread to Latin American nations like Puerto Rico, where there is a strong North American influence.
Where is Thanksgiving celebrated?
The celebration of this significant day takes place in several countries around the world, with a common purpose: to bring the family together to give thanks and share.
In the United States it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, proclaimed as a holiday by Abraham Lincoln.
In Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday of October.
In Brazil, Thanksgiving Day was established in 1966, through Law 5110. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
What do you do on Thanksgiving?
In the United States, this holiday is celebrated in every home and is considered a non-working day:
- Family gatherings are usually held at the home of the oldest relative, with the preparation of a dinner or banquet and a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the blessings received during the year.
- The traditional dinner dish consists of a roasted and baked turkey, accompanied by corn, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy (a sauce made from the juice of the turkey), accompanied by apple or pumpkin pie.
- Every year, the President of the United States holds the "turkey pardon" ceremony, in which the life of a turkey is spared. This ceremony began in 1963 with President John F. Kennedy.
- Since 1927, Macy's has held an annual parade through the streets of Manhattan, New York, featuring giant balloons and performances by guest musical artists.
- The Friday following Thanksgiving marks the start of the Christmas shopping season, known as Black Friday. Stores and shops offer huge sales and discounts.
- It is customary for charitable organizations to offer food to the most needy and helpless, reflecting love for one's neighbor.
- It is a tradition to play American football games belonging to the National Football League (NFL).
The best Thanksgiving movies
To celebrate this significant and special day, we present a summary of some iconic films to watch and enjoy with the family, with Thanksgiving as the central theme.
- Portrait of April, by Peter Hedges (2003): To celebrate Thanksgiving, April (Katie Holmes) gathers the entire family clan in her New York apartment.
- The Blind Side, by John Lee Hancock (2009): Sandra Bullock transforms the life of a young orphan whom she takes in on Thanksgiving Day and makes him a member of the family.
- Funny People, by Jud Appatow (2009): After being diagnosed with leukemia, a successful comedian (Adam Sandler) reunites his colleagues and friends for what could be his last Thanksgiving comedy.
- The Addams Family: The Tradition Continues, by Barry Sonnefeld (1993): In this sequence of the crazy Addams Family, Christina Ricci's (Wednesday) anti-colonialist speech on the occasion of Thanksgiving stands out, transforming a quiet school camp party into a revolutionary riot.
- Free Birds. The Turkeys! by Jimmy Hayward (2013): Two turkeys decide to travel back in time, with the goal of ending the Thanksgiving tradition.
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, by Bill Melendez, Phil Roman (1973): Thanksgiving becomes an obstacle course when Charlie Brown delegates the preparation of dinner to his pet, Snoopy.
- What's Cooking?, by Gurinder Chadha (2004): four American families from different cultures celebrate Thanksgiving in Los Angeles.
How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?
Anyone who follows the American press or its regular series will have already had a Thanksgiving binge from afar, as it's getting all the attention these days. Besides turkey, do you know what the typical Thanksgiving menu looks like? We suggest imitating it with our own version through these recipes.
We've already mentioned that today's traditional dishes might not have much to do with what the pilgrims ate, but that hardly matters. Traditions evolve and become entrenched in popular culture, becoming something special, and the truth is that no two Thanksgiving menus are identical.
Of course, there are the "classics," but each home varies according to the family's tastes and customs. So you don't have to follow any recipe exactly, but with these suggestions, you can create a delicious Thanksgiving-style menu.
The turkey, king of the show
Let's start with the important stuff: there's no Thanksgiving without turkey, or a vegetarian version. It's the main dish around which the entire menu revolves, the one that requires the most preparation and the utmost care, as despite its simplicity, it can be easily spoiled. It's a very large animal, perfect for satisfying the appetites of large families, and there's always, always leftover meat. In fact, leftover turkey is another delicacy many Americans dream of, ideal for sandwiches and other dishes.
It's usually bought frozen, so you also need to remember to take it out in time to start roasting it well in advance . Key points: get the cooking time right, ensure the meat is juicy with a well-browned exterior, and that it's not too dry or bland. We have a Thanksgiving turkey recipe in the purest American style, without too many complications. Of course, some people also prefer it fried, although frying a whole turkey is no walk in the park.
Gravy or sauce
It must be admitted that turkey meat is a bit dry, even if we're the kings of roasting and smother it with butter, oil, or broth. Eating it on its own is unthinkable at a good Thanksgiving dinner, and the sauce or gravy plays a fundamental role. It's another one of those essential menu components for which every family keeps its secret. Although it seems that in recent years many people prefer to play it safe by buying their sauce straight from a jar.
But when prepared well, gravy takes center stage and ultimately enriches every other dish on the table. It's actually a simple meat sauce that starts with a roux and is cooked with broth, slowly to avoid lumps. This gravy recipe is very useful for other occasions or for chicken. Another option is to dress up a roast that doesn't have gravy, or you can make a multipurpose meat sauce that also works with salads.
Cranberry sauce
We round out the basic Thanksgiving menu trilogy with the other essential dressing, the famous cranberry sauce. I'm sure many of you first encountered it while watching a series or movie—in my case, it was "Friends" and its iconic Thanksgiving episodes — back when we didn't even know cranberries and blueberries existed. Cranberries are very typical in the United States during the fall.
So we can go for the easy way and serve our turkey with jam or compote, made with cranberries or some equivalent: currants, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc. This sauce isn't as popular as the previous one, and many homes prefer to buy a jar and save the trouble.
But if you can find fresh cranberries, the cranberry sauce recipe goes great with many other dishes. We also recommend trying the baked berry jam recipe. It's a delicacy that pairs wonderfully with roasted meats, as in this case.
Stuffing or filling
The concept of "stuffing" a Thanksgiving turkey always strikes us as curious. At least I find it intriguing that such a caloric and filling dish is prepared to accompany an already gargantuan meal, considering it's served alongside the turkey, not inside it. In other words, the logical thing to do would be to stuff the bird with ingredients like fruits or vegetables with some fat, but traditional stuffing would end up drying it out even more.
In this dish there are many variations depending on the special touch of each family, although the base is cubes or coarse crumbs of bread, normally corn or a rustic loaf, with bacon, sausage, nuts or fruit, cheese, some vegetables. In the Thanksgiving turkey recipe you have the instructions to prepare a very easy classic stuffing, which as a rule is served on a plate as a garnish.
Cream of vegetables
To whet your appetite and prepare your stomach, many families in the United States prepare a comforting soup with seasonal vegetables. In theory, it's a light dish, but I'd say it's supposed to be quite filling, considering there's so much more to eat later. The problem is that what they call creamy soup is usually loaded with cream, butter, milk, cheese, and/or bacon, but there's no denying that it's comforting.
The most commonly used vegetables to prepare in cream for this holiday are cauliflower, broccoli, and, of course, pumpkin soup. I recommend opting for the former in a recipe that doesn't add too many calories, utilizing all the natural creaminess of cauliflower in the recipe for cream of cauliflower. And it's preferable to serve it in small portions, as no matter how light they are, vegetable soups are filling.
Mashed potatoes
I doubt there's a Thanksgiving table that doesn't include mashed potatoes. A simple dish—in appearance, at least—humble and very basic, but comforting and delicious. It reminds us of our childhood, too, and makes an explosive pairing with gravy . Some people like it thicker, with a rustic texture where you can taste the potato, with bits of skin. Although almost everyone looks for a creamy mashed potato.
It's certainly not a light side dish. Mashed potatoes achieve their succulent texture thanks to the thorough cooking of the tubers and also to the added ingredients, such as butter or cream. You're sure to have your own trick for adding a special touch, but if you've never made homemade, we also have a trick for making mashed potatoes fluffy.
French beans
Among the most common Thanksgiving side dishes are green bean recipes, usually in the form of a casserole. Americans use the thin or round variety and often combine them with some kind of fried, glazed, or candied onion, bacon, or vegetables, and sometimes a creamy sauce to give them more flavor.
When the oven is busy, sauteed green beans are also a good option to keep things simple. A good recipe is green beans with grapefruit and nuts, with a different festive touch and quick to prepare. In fact, beans can be used with almost anything, so feel free to innovate with different spices, an oriental sauce, some cheese, or whatever you fancy.
Brussels sprouts
Loved and hated in equal measure, I'm a firm believer in Brussels sprouts recipes, and I love that they're a staple at Thanksgiving dinner. Overcooked and mushy, they're boring, bland, and unappetizing, but when prepared properly, they become a delicious, light side dish that pairs beautifully with roasted turkey.
Again, we could enrich the dish by baking them in the oven with cream, bacon, and a generous layer of cheese, but I think it's better to avoid fatty additions. Simple but tasty Brussels sprouts with sage can be the ideal accompaniment to all kinds of meats, with aromas that will pleasantly surprise you.
Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes compete with pumpkin on fall menus and are also essential on a good Thanksgiving menu. Whether roasted, mashed, in soup, or for dessert, it's rare not to include them on this holiday. I've always been drawn to the traditional dish of sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, a creamy gratin topped with marshmallows that must be a hit.
We prefer to opt for a simple side dish of spiced roasted sweet potatoes, lighter but very tasty. The aromas of this tuber mixed with autumn spices make it a very comforting dish that could easily be enjoyed on its own on a cold night. And, of course, it pairs well with turkey and its gravy. We can also make a simple baked sweet potato.
Soft rolls
If the family hosting the Thanksgiving feast has also made homemade bread, it will add even more points for the guests. With so many dishes to cook and so many guests, it can be a hassle to deal with kneading and rising, but many homes still maintain the tradition.
In the United States, a good holiday dinner is accompanied by soft rolls. There are many different recipes depending on each household's tradition, but the general preference is for individual rolls with a soft and fluffy crumb, like this butter roll recipe. In some areas, cornbread is preferred, so you can also try the delicious gluten-free corn rolls.
Pumpkin Pie
What can you do after a full menu full of different dishes? Dessert, of course. And at Thanksgiving, the obligatory sweet treat is the pie, a truly American treat. If the family is large, it's normal to serve several different pies so no one goes hungry and that way, there's no fighting over which recipe to make.
There are many different types of pies that can be made, but there are some that are typical and traditional for this celebration. There's the pecan pie, which is too caloric for my taste; the sweet potato pie; the American apple pie; and, of course, the pumpkin pie. I can't help myself; I opt for the latter, an aromatic delight that puts the perfect finishing touch to an autumn feast. We have another, more rustic version of this pie.
Needless to say, there are many more different options to complete your Thanksgiving menu, especially when it comes to side dishes. However, with these recipes, you can put together a feast worthy of any American family, with our own little twist. Expect to have leftovers for almost a month; remember, that's part of the charm of this traditional holiday.
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