It would be wrong to conclude that today's Thanksgiving customs and traditions trickled from the Pilgrim's harvest festival of 1621 each year through the centuries and remains more or less the same in all aspects. Thanksgiving today is very much different from what it was way back in the 1600s. It has grown in meaning and its customs and traditions have become more significant now than ever. Because, it seems, there are more reasons for us to be thankful—more reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving now.

Thanksgiving is not just a celebration of harvest and good times; it isn't just a time to feast either. These are, of course, there; but the Thanksgiving holiday has expanded itself to being an entire season of plenty of good things—with plenty of people around, plenty of Thanksgiving turkey, plenty of special pies and other goodies, plenty of fun and games, plenty of shopping for the Christmas season, plenty of good wishes and cheer, and plenty of warmth amidst friends and family! So on Thanksgiving, it's kind of a custom and tradition these days to have a turkey-fic time shopping, eating, gathering together and wishing each other a very ‘Happy Thanksgiving'. So are you ready to plug in?

But you might be surprised to know that the turkeys and pumpkin pies, without which we can't imagine the Thanksgiving holiday, weren't there in the harvest celebrations of the Pilgrims. From the accounts left by Edward Winslow (a leader of the colony) and their Governor William Bradford, we know that the turkey, the pumpkin pie, the cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes of today's Thanksgiving did not find a place in the 1621 menu of the Pilgrim's celebrations. The English settlers and the Native Americans feasted on deer, ducks, geese, pumpkins, corns, yams and other native squashes of New England. There might have been lots of things more on their menu, but certainly not the stuffed juicy turkeys with gravy and the oh-so-yummy pumpkin pie of recent day Thanksgiving. Nowadays, any Thanksgiving dinner table would look empty without this bird neatly seated on it. Just as much a Thanksgiving custom and tradition, the turkey of Thanksgiving is the most coveted part of this holiday.

The turkey is the meat of choice in the modern American Thanksgiving and no Thanksgiving dinner is quite complete if you haven't carved out the golden brown turkey and polished it off to the fullest. And it's a sheer pity too, if you miss out on your Grandma's delicious pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. It's a real treat to be with ones' grandpa, granny and the entire family on this warm occasion of Thanksgiving! Quite in keeping with tradition, people make it a point to come back home on Thanksgiving and have a great family-time with everyone around.

Apart from the turkey and the pumpkin pie, there is a wide range of food which finds its way to the Thanksgiving dinner table today—goose, duck, ham, peas, rice dishes and lots of greens can all be a part of today's Thanksgiving menu and are significant customs and traditions of Thanksgiving too. But whatever the grub, it's the company of loved ones that matters the most on Thanksgiving. So catch up with your dear ones far and near with warm Thanksgiving wishes this November 23, make your pals feel special with a ‘Thank You' note on the Turkey Day, groove up the little kids you know, invite your folks to a yummy feast, send some love and care your sweetheart's way and come home to a turkey-fic time with ‘Happy Thanksgiving' wishes. You can also greet your boss and colleagues with floral wishes, send inspiring cards to someone special, you can share some wonderful Thanksgiving thoughts with the ones close to your heart, you can promise to pay a visit to a dear ones' place on Thanksgiving or if you're far away from your loved ones you can just let them know how much you're missing them. Pick what you may, but make sure that your Thanksgiving stands out from the rest. After all, it doesn't hurt to be a little beyond the ordinary on Thanksgiving, more so when Christmas is well nigh, right?

What do you think is the sportiest custom and tradition of Thanksgiving day? The biggest Thanksgiving tradition is the Thanksgiving football. And it's more than impossible to think of today's Thanksgiving without the football games held all over America. Antiquity has instances where harvest festivals were celebrated with games and sports. But Thanksgiving Day football is a very recent invention. It came into popular practice only in the 20th century. The traditional football game of Thanksgiving Day was usually held between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. But now, the Thanksgiving Day is not just confined to football—it's jam-packed with actions and numerous other games that's sure to keep your adrenalin running high all day through! So get ready to take your lead.

Yet another amusing feature of the Thanksgiving customs and traditions is the Thanksgiving wishbone. First the wishbone is allowed to dry. Then two people (willing to have a wish made) hold the two ends of the wishbone and makes a silent wish. After having made a wish, they start pulling it towards each other. And whoever gets the joint portion of this Thanksgiving wishbone is believed to get his/ her wish fulfilled.

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