For kids, it s a chance to soak up the excitement of the Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the savory aroma of turkey and pumpkin pies. For many adults, it offers the opportunity to catch some of the finest football action of the year. It s also about extending a helping hand to the less fortunate.
Many people volunteer at city missions and food pantries.
As most people know, Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. In 1609, a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become accustomed to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims.