It's a holiday that gets given little thought in the UK, so we've enlisted the help of a friend from across the pond to explain what it's all about and how you can celebrate in Norwich.
• History
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States which is traditionally traced back to a celebration at Plymouth (present-day Massachusetts) in 1621.
This event was held in honour of a good harvest and saw the Plymouth colonists, also known as Pilgrims, and the Wampanoag Indians share a large meal together over three days.
Thanksgiving was held on and off from then on until 1863 when during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that it should be recognised as a federal holiday to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.
This month it falls on Thursday, November 24 and is followed by Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year when retailers slash their prices considerably.
• Food, glorious food
Thanksgiving is a holiday centred around what Americans do best- eating.
Only joking, but in all seriousness, a Thanksgiving meal is a huge undertaking, especially for a first timer.
The focus of the meal is the iconic Thanksgiving turkey, filled with stuffing and served with gravy and cranberries or cranberry sauce.
Just as important as the turkey, perhaps even more so, are the side dishes that are served.
One classic side is mashed potatoes served with gravy. Some other popular ones are sweet potato casserole, roasted carrots, dinner rolls, and green bean casserole.
A few hours following the huge meal, there are desserts. Dessert pies are a staple of Thanksgiving meals, with popular flavours being pumpkin, pecan, or apple.
Those pies are often served with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.
• Festive entertainment
Aside from all of the eating, there are some other things which make Thanksgiving day what it is. One of those things are the decorations. Cornucopias are the common centrepiece of a Thanksgiving table display, along with things like squash, pumpkins and dried cobs of corn.
Another thing unique to American Thanksgiving is the huge accompanying parade. You'll find the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York being screened on nearly every news channel in the states, and watching it is one of the first things that people do while they wait for the meal to be served.
Immediately following the parade, a slew of American football games start, one after another. Every year certain teams play, and dedicated fans gather around the television to watch.
Some Americans skip out on all of these things though in order to start lining up for the Black Friday sales, which often start on Thanksgiving day.
• Where can you celebrate in Norwich?
For those in Norwich who wish to celebrate the American day of eating but don't want to cook, there are a few restaurants in the area serving Thanksgiving dinner.
These include Coast to Coast, the American restaurant and bar at Riverside Leisure Park and Olive's Cafe on Elm Hill, which will be hosting an All American Thanksgiving feast on November 25 complete with turkey pot pie, green bean casserole and pecan crusted pumpkin pie.
• Do you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving? Let us know about your traditions in the comments below.
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