Thanksgiving 2018: America celebrates heritage with turkey, pumpkin pie and spirit of togetherness

Nation shares moment to take stock, reflect on its history and load up on crucial carbs before hitting shops for Black Friday rush

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today Americans celebrate their heritage with a day of feasting and reflection, honouring the moment the Pilgrim Fathers sat down with the Wampanoag Indians in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on 22 November 1621 to celebrate a successful harvest.

That “First Thanksgiving” was made possible by the Native Americans offering invaluable advice on crop cultivation ahead of the harsh winter to come and was cheered with a banquet of waterfowl, wild turkeys, venison, ham, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin and squash.

While the turkey may now have taken precedence (around 46m are slaughtered for the event every year) and seafood is seldom served, the menu has hardly changed four centuries later.

Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a national holiday every year since 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it so at the height of the Civil War.

This year, Donald Trump has pardoned Peas and Carrots the turkeys and families are gathering for a day of fine dining, togetherness and NFL on TV as Google marks the occasion with a fresh Doodle.

The president has, somewhat predictably, jetted out to Mar-a-Lago in Florida for golf before the resort lays on a 24-dish dinner, with a three-decker chocolate cake among the desserts on offer.

Around the country, millions will be sitting down to traditional fare, typically enjoying their roast with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and, of course, pumpkin pie.

Today's football fixtures see the Detroit Lions take on the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins versus the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons versus the New Orleans Saints, the latter among the favourites for the Super Bowl.

Another major attraction of the day is the spectacular Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, ideal pre-lunch viewing for those already growing sick of their overbearing relatives.

Known for its giant balloons of beloved cartoon characters, the pageant has been run by the 34th Street department store since 1924 and is this year taking place with -3 temperatures and Arctic winds forecast, so viewers lining the Manhattan sidewalks are advised to wrap up warm.

All of this provides a day of grace before the mania of Black Friday, when stores across the country throw open their doors at midnight to allow crazed shoppers to hunt for bargains as the Christmas shopping season kicks off in earnest.

It should also be said that, for Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of national mourning, an occasion to remember in sorrow the devastating impact of the European colonists on their civilisation and culture and those killed in the brutal conquest of the “New World”.

Every year since 1970, the United American Indians of New England have organised a march to Cole’s Hill near Plymouth Rock on this day in tribute to their ancestors.

The rally also hopes to draw attention to current injustices and prejudice in America in the hope the country can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.