Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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November 22, 2007

US Pauses to Mark Annual Thanksgiving Holiday
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1A5603B:A6F02AD83191E16086DB62413CC76E30B3350E090FE6A6E8& Many Americans
traveling hundreds of kilometers to enjoy day with large gathering of
family and friends and huge feast with turkey





Volunteer Michael Linderman, right, removes freshly roasted turkeys
from pans at Food & Friends in Washington, D.C., 22 Nov 2007Millions
of Americans are off work Thursday, to celebrate the nation's annual
Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Many Americans travel hundreds - even thousands - of kilometers to
enjoy the day with a large gathering of family and friends, and a huge
feast with turkey as the main dish.  They also watch traditional,
nationally televised holiday events, including a parade in New York
City sponsored by Macy's department store, and National Football
League games. 

Although there is a record of earlier Thanksgiving celebrations, the
tradition is often traced back to 1621.  That year, British colonists
at the Plymouth settlement in what is now the northeastern state of
Massachusetts held a feast with a Native American tribe, the
Wampanaog, who taught the colonists how to grow food and hunt for game
in their new home.

The celebration grew during the early years of the United States, and
President George Washington proclaimed a national Thanksgiving in 1789
to celebrate the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.  In 1863,
during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed
the last Thursday in November as an annual national day of
Thanksgiving. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation in 1941 that set
the annual Thanksgiving holiday for the fourth Thursday in the month.

Three NFL games are on the schedule Thursday, including the Green Bay
Packers versus the Detroit Lions, a longtime Thanksgiving Day
matchup.  The other games include the New York Jets taking on the
Dallas Cowboys, and the Indianapolis Colts against the Atlanta
Falcons.


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