Washington DC Thanksgiving Guide

Thanksgiving is an annual tradition celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. It is one of the major holiday's celebrated throughout the United States where friends and family gather for a huge meal centered around turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving, also known as Turkey Day, was officially proclaimed a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated between the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims and the Native American Indians who helped them survive the brutal winter season. The first Thanksgiving provided ample food for over 50 Pilgrims and 90 Indians and lasted three days.

Tribes throughout North America held calendrical thanksgiving ceremonies focused on regional agricultural cycle of growing and harvesting sacred corn. Many Native American traditions, stories and ceremonies surround corn, one of the "three sisters" (maize, beans and squash). Even in New England there are many variations on how maize was brought or introduced to Native Americans here. Generally in southern New England, maize is described as a gift of Cautantowwit, a deity associated with the southwestern direction; that kernels of maize and beans were delivered by the crow, or in other versions the black-bird. Responsible for bringing maize, the crow would not be harmed even for damaging the cornfield. Other Algonkian legends recount maize brought by a person sent from the Great Spirit as a gift of thanks. Read More

Picture the traditional Thanksgiving dinner: a festive table, a loving family, glowing candles and the finest china used only on special occasions. And the centerpiece of the festive meal: the turkey, golden brown, with stuffing and gravy on the side, awaiting the carving knife and whetting the appetites of all those present. This centerpiece scene, emerges from both holiday traditions and a unique world history of a native American god bird. Read More

Every year a ceremony takes place at the White House where the President of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey. Since 1989 during the first Thanksgiving of President George H. W. Bush, the president has granted the turkey a "presidential pardon" and thus spared the bird from being slaughtered. The origins of the tradition of pardoning the White House turkey are unclear. Many credit President Harry Truman with starting the informal and lighthearted tradition in 1947. However, the Truman Library says that no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs or other contemporary records are known to exist that specify that he ever "pardoned" a turkey. Read More

Every year in the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the biggest day in sales for retail stores. Black Friday, as it is commonly known, kicks off the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The name Black Friday is a reference to the date when retail stores usually start to make their profits for the year bringing them from the red into the black. Store’s across the United States are packed and open early. This year save TIME AND MONEY by shopping online at DC Gift Shop. Take advantage of their HUGE SALES from the comfort of your home. Read More

Learn more history and information about one of the biggest holidays in the United States. Do you know what was and wasn't served at the first Thanksgiving between the Wampanoag Indians and Plymouth Pilgrims? I bet you would be surprised. Do you know how much turkey the average person in the United States eats in a year or which President officially named Thanksgiving a holiday? How about the heaviest turkey ever recorded or the largest state of consumers of turkey in the United States? Find out all these answers and more in our fun Thanksgiving Day facts page. Read More

With the chill of late November comes America's favorite holiday spectacular; the official kick off to the holiday season - the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. America's Parade stepped off on Thursday, November 24th at 9:00 AM with over 10,000 Macy's employees, volunteers, marching bands, clowns, balloons, floats and performers in tow. Over 2.5 million spectators lined the streets of New York City and more than 50 million viewers watched the celebration on television nationwide. Follow DCpages for an exclusive view of the magical moment when balloons and floats transform the streets of the Big Apple. All the children shout, "Let's Have A Parade!" Read More

1n 1620, a small group of English colonists, popularly known as the "Pilgrims," sailed from from the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to the shore of what is today known as the town of Plymouth (formally New Plimouth and Plimoth) in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Read More

Established in 1989, through an Act of Congress, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian opened its doors to the public on September 21, 2004. As part of the grand opening, a spectacular six-day First Americans Festival was held on the National Mall. The flags, feathers, and bright native clothing made for a multicolored display, and the air was filled with the smell of burned sage and the sounds of drums, bells and music. Read More

Right in the District's backyard is our country's only privately run national park. The mission of Turkey Run is to recreate the life of 1771 tenant farmers. The vast majority of Virginians in 1771 were tenant farmers, who lived by growing tobacco to pay their rent, and growing food to eat. The Claude Moore Colonial Farm property is approximately twelve acres planted with corn, tobacco, wheat, flax, rye, barley, a kitchen garden and an orchard. The fields are tilled, planted and cultivated by hand, applying basic principles of hoe agriculture. Staff and volunteers dressed in reproduction period clothes, work the farm, and answer your questions about the farm, livestock, and family, as if you were actually an 18th century visitor. Read More

Autumn is the perfect time to enjoy the District's outdoor treasures and catch a glimpse of natures splendor seen by our Nation's Founding Fathers. George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant masterful design strategy provides breathtaking open public landscape painted with a mosaic of warm toned shades of orange and gold to purple and scarlet. Autumn's crisp chill and diminishing length of daylight induce trees to shed their green leaves. Temperature, sunlight, and soil moisture greatly influence the quality of the fall foliage display. Before leaves fall in the autumn they pass key nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, back into the main body of the tree or plant. Species with brighter autumn leaves appear to retain more nutrients than duller-coloured ones. Read More