Thanksgiving

In Poland, we associate Thanksgiving with USA, turkey..and nothing more. Why, what and how you celebrate are questions you start to ask when you are faced with the last Thursday of November.
Secular Holiday
The reason why it may be difficult to understand this celebration is that for Poles every national holiday is associated with Catholic Church celebration. I admit it does feel a bit weird observing how the whole country stops from work and turns into celebration spirit without the church having any role in it. But secularity is probably the biggest advantage of Thanksgivings. It unites the whole country no matter the religious or racial background.
Harvest Celebration
The idea of Thanksgiving is to celebrate the first harvest of British settlers who came to what is now the area of Massachusetts. This day is special, because it is a federal holiday, which is unusual for work-loving Americans. The major celebration takes place in the evening, when friends and family gather to eat turkey, pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes.
Black Friday
Of course, the USA would not be the USA, if it didn't incorporate any commercial elements to this beautiful tradition. This is how Black Friday came about. It is a day after Thanksgiving when thousands of Americans line up in front of stores at midnight with hope of buying  reduced- price goods.